Guns and Chocolate
by Himawari96
Summary: Ahana Kazane is a new student in Raira academy, having traveled from California. Through violence, gangs, and random mishaps, sometimes even love can blossom in the strangest of places. OcxShizuo slight ocxIzaya (will have sexual content in later chapters)
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

It wasn't like I was going to miss my old school or anything. Since I was a child, I was quiet and kept mostly to myself, only adapting an extroverted persona when it was necessary. I wasn't a loner, but I had a few friends. And only three of whom I selected to share my deepest feelings with. Only three of whom I would miss. However, I wouldn't miss my old school mainly because it was boring. The routine and rules wore me down. I may have been quiet but I loved excitement...perhaps I had an inner personality unknown even to myself. I had yet to explore it.

Right now, my eyes were focused on the scenery before me. I could faintly see my reflection behind the glass pane of the train and was slightly bothered that a fingerprint smear was evident on my tinted sunglasses. It was a pain having to wear them. Oversized green sunglasses that were way too big for my small narrow face, but I couldn't stand the sun hitting my eyes. Without them, everything was painfully bright and I had to squint, making my eyes water in the process. My sister simply said I had sensitive eyes from too much time spent on my laptop. Perhaps she was right.

It wasn't like there was something I could do about it. Having glasses indoors while using my device made me look silly.

The train rattled, and I clutched my red plaid bag in anticipation. My palms were so sweaty I dreaded the service lady coming for a handshake. I should have worn gloves. I was traveling to the infamous city called Ikebukuro. I say infamous because I heard all kinds of stories from my school in America. People saying the place was full of grown men wearing sailor moon costumes. It was supposedly a cosplay place with no boundaries. Full of eccentric people like Venice. It wasn't too bad. People like that were interesting, and I had a childlike uncanny curiosity for them. Still...I didn't want to see grown men in women's clothing. That was a bit much.

"Excuse me miss, is this seat taken?"

I turned at the voice that had spoken to me, and yanked my earphones out from below. A boy seemingly my age stood before me, holding on to the empty seat next to mine for support as the train rattled on. Looking behind me quickly, I spotted the elderly seating themselves. It looked like this boy had given up his for one of them. Not wanting to look rude, I quickly shook my head, sending choppy brown locks swaying with the movement.

"Thanks." He said, sitting next to me while tucking his bag under his seat. I studied him from the sides of my eye. He was quiet, but nervous. I could tell by the way his eyebrows were creased, and the way he kept on twiddling his thumbs together. Probably another new resident for Ikebukuro?

I bit into my lip and rolled my earphones around my phone quietly, highly conscious of my the boy next to me. Perhaps I should make some small talk? But how should I start? I sucked at socializing. Academically, I was smart, really smart. But I lacked social intelligence and common sense. It was a curse that haunted me for all eighteen years of my life. My anxiety was rising. I could almost hear my heart pounding as I rose my arms to smooth my long brown hair. It had grown up to my waist but was choppy and uneven in the back of my head when I tried to unsuccessfully cut it. It didn't look that bad. It made it look like I had short hair if I tied the bottom part and kept the chopped part free. My bangs were also uneven, with my right side falling to my ear and my left to my neck. Also a fail attempt at cutting it myself, so I had to part it on the left side of my head to make it look like it was planned.

"Is that an outlet?"

I nearly jumped out of my skin when the boy spoke so close to my ear. He was leaning my way after all, but not to be creepy, he was merely trying to look past my blue plaid coat. I shifted to give him full view and nodded.

"Yeah." The word came out meekly and he blinked at me, deer-like eyes curious.

"Is it okay if I use it?" He asked with a small smile, scratching his short dark hair nervously.

I nodded and shifted my legs. I was painfully petite, so my feet didn't even touch the floor although I was wearing leather boots with thick soles. So it was easy to slide my legs up to my chest to grant the boy access to the outlet. I watched silently as he slid a charger to attach to his phone.

After he was done, he leaned back in his seat and I slid my legs back down. The thin wire brushed against my bare legs as he typed away. The coat I wore was a few inches above my knee so the feeling tickled.

"I'm sorry, is it bothering you?" The boy asked, trying to avert the wire. His white thin and green sweater was worn with some plain blue jeans and sneakers. He looked very ordinary.

"No it's fine." I assured him softly.

His gaze held mine for a minute before he thrust his hand out for a handshake. "I'm Mikado Ryuugamine, what's yours?"

I stared at his hand like it was a snake, trying desperately to think of a way out of this. I couldn't, and was forced to shake it reluctantly. My hand was a lot smaller than his, but it fit, and he had the courtesy of not wiping his hand on his leg after he let go.

"I'm Ahana Kazane, nice to meet you." I said slowly, sizing him up. He seemed friendly and kind, so I might as well open up to him.

"Are you going to Ikebukuro to visit somebody?" he asked politely. I decided I liked his voice, it was very mellow and controlled.

I shook my head. "No, I'm here to stay, I'm transfering schools from America, Although I'm from asian decent this is my first time in Japan, I will be staying with my dad..."

"I see, I've never been to America, I grew up in Japan, I'm actually going to live in Ikebukuro because a friend recommended I attend school with him, I haven't seen him in person for a while so i'm pretty excited...but also a little nervous because I come from a quiet town and this part of Japan is pretty loud and lively...so much going on." He said with a shy smile. He had stopped twiddling his thumbs but his face was still portraying signs of uncertainty.

"I feel the exact same way, I'm not going to know anybody so I'm nervous." I exclaimed with a small frown.

He glanced at me, shutting his phone. "What school are you attending?"

"Raira Academy." I muttered.

"Cool, I'm attending that school too! That's the one my friend is in, maybe we can be in the same class, I'm fifteen, what is your age?" He was getting more comfortable with me. I could tell by the way his face was softening.

"Oh...I'm eighteen." I muttered while averting my brown eyes.

His jaw fell. "A-are you serious? Wow you look really young, I thought you were fourteen." He stopped speaking and his eyes widened. I could see a hint of blue in them. "Oh! I'm sorry! It's just that your so small!" He apologized loudly, bowing while he did so. "I wasn't trying to make fun of you or anything!"

I shot him a reassuring smile."It's fine really, I get that a lot...anyways I heard classes are mixed so we probably will."

"Yeah..." Relieved, Mikado looked out the window and noted that it was getting dark. He was right, time went by fast in my time riding the train, and I took my glasses off to see the nightlife better. It actually looked pretty. The light's gave the city a luminous and bouncy glow of energy.

"Just one more stop and we are almost there." Mikado spoke once the train sped underground. "Is your dad going to be waiting for you?"

"No." I said nervously. "He's at work so I'm going to find my way around using my GPS, I just hope I don't get lost."

Mikado's gaze held mine and I could see he was confused, even in the dim underground light. "Huh? Why would you get lost if you have your phone for directions? You do know your address right?"

"Yeah but...sometimes I get lost anyway, I have a horrible sense of direction." I said with a laugh. Now I was the one scratching my head.

"Oh...in that case why don't you stay with me? My friend knows this city like the back of his hand, I'm sure he can help you find your way around." Mikado offered kindly.

My brown eyes widened. "Really? Thanks a bunch!" It was like a huge weight was lifted off my shoulders. I didn't have to wonder around this city alone now.

'Next stop, Ikebukuro.' The trains electronic voice echoed around us and I slid my glasses inside my bag, picking it up and slinging it over my shoulder while Mikado did the same. Once the darkness subsided, Bright light engulfed the windows of the train and I squinted past them at the many people standing or walking about the underground train station. The doors opened. I followed Mikado out clumsily, stepping out into the white walkway with a deep breath. It was nice to be out again.

"Hmmm...my friend should be here soon, lets wait for him over there." Mikado said while pointing to a lone spot near a thick wall. "I'll text him to say I arrived."

"Okay." I muttered, following him as he poked at his phone. The screech of tires sounded as the train took off again, like a rollercoaster going at the speed of light. With our backs to the wall, we waited patiently. Mikado was a few more inches taller than me, so my head ended at the crook of his collarbone. I was only five feet one, and skinny.

"What does your friend look like?" I asked, straining to raise my voice as my eyes scanned the crowd.

"dark hair and very light brown eyes." Mikado murmured beside me.

"Hmmm." I scanned the crowd again. That wasn't very much to go on. After five minutes of waiting in silence, I was getting impatient. I even considered just leaving by myself until I spotted a boy a few feet away grinning from ear to ear at our direction. But he didn't have dark hair...he was a blonde. Could it be him?

Uncomfortable, I tugged on Mikado's sleeve to get his attention but it was too late. The blonde had already reached us and stood in front of Mikado with a grin resembling the cheshire cats.

"Helloooo!" He spoke out in a high pitched and cheerful voice.

Mikado looked up from his phone, startled. "Masaomi? Did you dye your hair? No way you look so different!"

I watched with interest at the exchange of words between them. So this was his friend. He was a an inch taller than Mikado, and had longer hair that reached a little over his ears, with long pointy bangs that gave him a punk look. His light brown eyes were cheerful and vibrant as he talked with Mikado. Even his mannerisms were cheerful and maybe a little bit quirky as he moved around, waving his arms around like some sort of ninja and patting Mikado, correcting the latter on his opinion of his jokes.

It wasn't long before his attention turned to my, eyes focusing on my frame with curiosity. "Oh hello, who's this? Your sister?" He drawled, patting my shoulder as if he knew me for many years. His white hoodie went well in contrast with his black jeans. He had that clean 'street tokyo' look.

"This is Ahana, I met her on the train, I offered to help her find her way home, shes new here so...she's not very familiar to Ikebukuro." Mikado explained.

"Say no more! Say no more...pleasure to meet you darliing, I'm Masaomi Kida, coolest guy you'll ever meet in this city, and the best at giving directions." He winked at me and thankfully didn't offer a handshake.

"Thanks." I said, holding in a laugh. Mikado's friend was weird, it was hard to believe they were friends even though they were the complete opposite.

"So! Let me give you two a tour around the city before I send you off home! Trust me you need this, two small and fragil birds like you will not survive without me and my survival kit." Masaomi exclaimed loudly while escorting us towards an escalator. We stood on it patiently as the words 'Welcome to Ikebukuro' shone above us in bright red neon letters.

"Is it alright? What if one of those color gangs shows up and attacks us!" Mikado said with a frightened expression.

My eyebrow raised but I didn't press on the subject.

"Those guys have disappeared already,and besides it's only like six...you wuss." Masaomi laughed loudly once we stepped off the stairs and into the city sidewalk. I was taken aback by how party-like it looked. There was nothing boring about it at all.

"And besides." Masaomi went on. "There are far more dangerous things here than color gangs, anything can happen in Ikebukuro." He whispered ominously.

"L-like what?" I muttered with worry.

Masaomi grinned at me. "It's just like Mikado to find someone like him, you'll see."

We walked further on. Masaomi pointed out certain restaurants to avoid and which ones to go to, who to avoid and which places to steer clear out of. It was a bit too much to remember, but I didn't think I would go wandering in a lone alley anyway.

"By the way, you got your address with you? Can't help you go home if I don't know where you live." Masaomi asked while glancing at me.

"Yeah!" I pulled my phone out of my pocket and handed it to him. It was still on my notepad and the blonde stared at it for a while.

"Alright I know where that is." He handed the device back to me and I slid it back into my coats pocket.

"Thanks again...and sorry for the trouble." I murmured in gratitude.

"Are you kidding? No problem!" Masaomi exclaimed with a large grin. I smiled back. I immediately liked him. His personality, while odd, made me feel like I belonged. There was no tension in the air when he was around.

Just as we were about to turn a curve, I nearly collided with the blondes back as he stopped suddenly.

"Whoa! Watch where your going!" A girls voice rang out. I looked past Masaomi's body to see a cardboard figurine of a familiar looking anime character. It was being held by a tall girl in a black hat and a black dress. Her hair was tucked into her cap but her front black bangs stuck out at her sides. She sort of looked like a grave robber with all that black. But somehow it suited her pale complexion. The other person holding the figure was a boy who was so scrawny it put me to shame. sporting a blue sweater and simple light brown jeans with matching light brown hair that drooped over his face, his eyes were what stood out about him because they were so slanted they looked closed.

"Erika! Walker, sorry I was just giving these two new friends of mine a tour around Ikebukuro." Masaomi explained with pride, as if giving tours was a high paying job.

The girl, Erika, looked us over. "Oh, new residents? What are their names?" She asked in a bubbly but low pitched tone.

"I-im Mikado Ryuugamine..."Mikado stammered, shy out of his mind.

"I'm Ahana Kazane." I spoke out as well, but in a more controlled voice.

The girl stared with an o shaped mouth. "Coool! Your names sound like anime characters! Isn't that right Walker? I'm Erika Karisawa, it's nice to meet you, have fun on your tour!"

"Yeah! they can be like right out of an anime! I'm walker Yumasaki by the way, nice to meet you." The boy next to Erika said shrilly.

"What are you guys even doing with that cardboard thing? Your like...right in the middle of the sidewalk." Masaomi muttered with a slight frown.

"Oh this? It's a collection for Spice and Wolf, we are collecting pieces for the manga! Looks cool doesn't it?" Erika exclaimed with a smile.

"I knew it looked familiar, thats really cool, I love that anime." I said with a smile, making Erika and walker eye me quickly.

"Well hello there new best friend!" They said together cheerfully.

"Oh nooo dude, they have you in their clutches now." Masaomi whispered to me with a face.

"Heyy! hurry up!" A voice made us all turn towards a van on the other side of the street with a boy waving at us.

"Coming dotachin! Well we gotta bounce, see you guys later! Erika spoke out before slowly carrying the cardboard figure towards the van.

"Later bitches!" Masaomi yelled with a wave.

After they were gone, Masaomi turned to us. "What was Erika and Walker, they have these two other friends with them who drive around the city in search of all things anime, they can be pretty weird but if you're cool with them, they're cool with you." He stated with a grin.

"Yeah they seemed really interesting." Mikado said with a small smile.

"Mhmm." I agreed.

We continued to walk the streets of the city. The night air was making me cold as it brushed against my bare legs and my face, but I liked it. It made me feel fresh and renewed. Despite being in an alien country, I was a bit more at ease.

"Oh! I'm sorry!" Mikado's voice turned my attention to him. He had bumped into a girl it seemed, because he was bowing to a young woman sporting a cap. As she turned, I was struck by how dull her eyes were. An opac blue with a whitish tint. Her messy short brown hair swayed slightly in the night wind as she stared at Mikado with a serious look.

"It's fine." Her soft voice was flat and she turned sharply to leave, but not before I caught a glimpse of her neck. She had a scar around it...was she suicidal?

"Oh! Her neck..." Mikado whispered faintly, eyes lingering at the girls retreating form.

"You noticed it too?" I asked, fiddling with the bow holding my coat together.

"Yeah, that was really weird..." Mikado said in confusion. "I wonder why she had it."

"Hey! Hurry up!" Masaomi's voice from afar made us jump and we sped walked over to him. He had walked on, not knowing we had stopped while talking to himself.

"Sorry about that." Mikado apologized when we caught up to him.

"Jeez, If you keep separating I'm gonna lose you guys! Don't want to get caught by any shady people you know!" The blonde whined while walked backwards, hands behind his head.

"You bastard! I want my money now!"

I cringed at the booming voice of a man. Across the street near a convenience store stood a tall blonde man in what looked like a butler or bartender suit, holding a large square object too far to tell what it was. Below him, a man was sitting on the sidewalks pavement, scared out of his mind.

"I'm sorry! I-I swear I'll get it! I just dont have it yet okay?" The stranger said shakily. Holding his arms up for protection wasn't helping.

The taller male was fuming, and flung the object high into the air. I stared, startled, because now that it was flung up the lights of the streets illuminated it, and I could see that it was a vending machine. Was this real? How could anyone throw something that heavy?!

It fell down with a loud crash in front of the man, metal hitting the pavement hard so that it bent in an awkward angle, and the screech of it bending filled the air. The man below screamed.

"If I don't get my money back that's gonna be you!" The blonde shouted angrily. His voice was deep, making him sound even more intimidating than he already was. The man below picked himself up and ran at full speed, taking refuge into a nearby alley and disappearing.

"W-was that a vending machine?" Mikado's voice was low and disbelieving. His face held a mixture of shock and awe. He was stunned. So was I.

"That's Shizuo Heiwajima...He's dangerous and really strong, but he'll leave you alone as long as you don't piss him off, so seriously just try to avoid him at all costs." Masaomi muttered with a cautious tone.

Mikado gulped. "Don't piss him off got it." He stated with a forced smile, eyes tearing away from the blonde man swearing loudly, still quite angry about his ordeal. We continued walking, but I shot a final glance at the supposedly dangerous blonde man. It looked like he was looking our way, but I wasn't too sure because he had lightly tinted shades that hid his eyes in the night. Could someone really be so strong as to throw machines around? Somehow this seemed more like a dream now than reality. Maybe this is what Masaomi meant about the city being dangerous.

"Hey sushi right here! Come inside and buy some Sushi! It's good for you!"

When we turned another curve, the light of a nearby restaurant shone and a tall black man stood outside of its entrance, holding out flyers. Masaomi approached him, and we followed.

"Whats up Simon! Working hard again?" He asked with a grin, dancing around him and sending his white hoodie bouncing with the action.

"Hm? Masaomi, want to buy some sushi? It's good!" the man exclaimed with a calm smile of his own. He had a strange unfamiliar accent that sounded spanish.

"No way man, I'm broke! But if its free then I'll be more than happy to swing by!" Masaomi mentioned cheerfully.

The man before us frowned, and gasped. "No! I can't give away free sushi, I will be out of buisiness, you come back with money later okay?" He stated with the accent again.

"Don't sweat it, by the way this is Mikado and Ahana, they're new here and I'm showing them around." The bubbly blonde stated while waving his arms around us.

The sushi man looked at us with friendly eyes and handed us each a flyer. "Nice to meet you, come by to eat some sushi okay? It's good for you! Russia sushi top quality!"

We nodded and waved goodbye as we walked again, our feet padding against the concrete floor. Folding the flyer in half carefully, I tucked it into my coat pocket, still hearing the man behind us shout.

"So who was that?" I asked curiously, rubbing my nose with my index finger. It was getting a bit too cold.

"That was Simon, he's a russian chef that is kinda aggressive when it comes to promoting his sushi, but you know, it really is good so its not like hes lying, you should grab some when you have time." Masaomi said after a few more turns.

"I see." Mikado muttered. So that explained the accent. He was russian.

"Anyway, so here's the complete list of who to avoid in Ikebukuro." Masaomi turned around, blonde hair swaying around his face gracefully. Holding up a hand, he pulled down one finger. "Shizuo Heiwajima, lest you want to be flying twenty feet across the city." He smirked at that one, but it disappeared quickly when he pulled his other finger. "Also...you want to avoid Izaya Orihara, but he hangs out in another city so you probably wont encounter him around here." His cheerful face looked solemn for a second and I had to wonder why the sudden change in demeanor, but it changed back to his cheerful side when he pulled the third finger down. "And lastly, you want to avoid the dollars."

Mikado stiffened. "Dollars? Who are they?" He asked carefully.

My eyebrow rose.

"They're an anonymous gang with no color, no one really knows who they are but some come out and say they are a part of it, those people are usually up to no good, just stay clear of them." Masaomi advised slowly.

"Oh I see." Mikado muttered with a shiver. "The dollars sound pretty scary."

I nodded. "I didn't know Tokyo had a gang problem, thanks in advance for the warning." I exclaimed while swiping my bangs to the side and out of my eyes.

Masaomi turned to me and smirked. "No problem! Your so tiny, how old are you-hey do you hear that?!" He shouted quickly, cupping his ear.

Mikado and I stood and listened. "Umm, the sound of cars and people walking?" I said out loud in confusion, not really sure what he was referring to.

"No not that! It's the sound of a motor bike! The black rider!" Masaomi shouted excitedly, taking hold of each of our hands and pulling us forward quickly. We rushed forward to the end of the street near the stoplight.

"Who is that?" Mikado and I both asked with panting breaths.

"It's a mysterious person who rides around mostly at night, legend has it that its a headless being who combs the streets of Ikebukuro looking for its head, and if it finds you alone...it snags your head to keep for itself!" Masaomi shrieked, riffling Mikado's hair roughly.

"Ahh! Knock it off!" Mikado whined, trying to use me to gain distance from the blonde.

I stared ahead with anticipation, listening to the distant sound of a motor until a figure came into view. "Here it comes!" I shouted, pointing to it.

We stared in awe as the rider came into full view, speeding near us so I could see the yellow cat helmet and the slender figure that its wearer had. It looked like a woman's figure, with narrow shoulders and a slender waist. I was drawn to the mysterious smoke that was coming out of its neck through a small gap.

It was like a slow motion film. From a distance, I could hear a horses whine. Or was that my imagination? It didn't matter, because the figure left as quickly as it had come, and all that was left was its small frame speeding away into the streets.

"Wow...that looked really cool, the helmet is unique, who is it?" Mikado asked in awe.

"Yeah, it kind of looked female, but I'm not too sure, did you guys see that black smoke?" I chimed in excitedly.

"Sure did!" Masaomi checked his phone and clicked. "No one really knows, some claim they do but I don't think the black rider has many aquaintances, so it remains a legend till this day, pretty cool right?!"

"Y-yeah!" I agreed.

"Cmon, Ahana your house is near here." My blonde companion led the way into a a different street with cars moving at full speed. Once we crossed it, we made our way uphill into some lonely buildings. "You guys are really lucky, you got to see Erika's squad, Shizuo Heiwajima, and the black rider all in one day on your first day in Ikebukuro." The blonde went on, before stopping directly in front of a big building behind a gate.

"Well, this is it, so sad that we should part so soon my darling." Masaomi threw his head back dramatically and I bit back a laugh. Reaching in my coat pocket, I was a bit startled at the sudden invasion when his hand grabbed my phone. Poking at the screen, he frowned and thrust it out to me.

"Password?" He demanded with a pout.

Hesitating for a second, I brought my finger up to unlock the screen and he went back to clicking away, taking a moment before handing it back to me. I stared at the new contact I had. He had put in his name and number to save it.

"Any time you need anything just give me a call babes!" The blonde exclaimed while putting up his hand near his ear to make a calling gesture.

"Why are you so weird..." Mikado muttered with a frown.

"I-its fine! Thank you, do you want to exchange numbers too?" I asked the raven haired boy.

"Yeah, sure!" He responded, taking out his phone to add my contact as well as giving me his. Masaomi just huffed.

"Don't be so boring dude, that's no way to get the ladies!" Masaomi snickered, making Mikado blush furiously.

"I'm not! I can get the ladies if I really wanted to! I-i mean that's not what I'm doing! Don't misunderstand!" If it was possible, Mikado's face got even redder as he stumbled on his own words. Masaomi burst out in a fit of laughter and I bit my tongue for the poor boys sake.

"It's okay, you don't have to be so shy, thanks again for taking me home, and for the tour!" I said with a bright smile.

"Anytime sweetheart!" Masaomi shouted as he waved goodbye, dragging a disgruntled Mikado along with him. I watched the two walk off before I made my way inside the gate, black leather boots padding along the stairs. One of my laces was coming undone.

Standing in front of the doorway I knew was my new home, I unlatched my keychain from behind my bag and looked down at it. A dingy old ring with a black butler figurine sporting Sebastian dangling from it. Perhaps I should have shown it to that girl Erika...but that could wait for another time. Sliding my fingers over the figurine, I chose one out of three keys and inserted it into the keyhole of the door. My dad had mailed it to me beforehand so I wouldn't be locked out when I arrived.

The door creaked as I pushed it open and I walked in, making sure to take the key back to latch back onto my bag. A huge lamp was lit and my eyes scanned my surroundings. It was an apartment complex but a big one, with hard cherry brown wooden floors and a big living room with a brown couch matching it.

The table was marble as had modern glass chairs. Not a speck of dirt could be found. It was nice...dad wasn't hopeless without a wife. Making my way upstairs, I opened the door with my name on it. He had pasted it on paper so I wouldn't get confused it seemed. The room was just as clean as downstairs, with the bed neatly made and the drawers bare of any messy knick knacks. In the corner sat a black computer desk. Perfect to set my laptop on.

However, I was much too tired for unpacking just yet. That 'tour' took my last remaining energy. So I slumped my oversized backpack down on the floor and threw myself on the bed facedown, savoring the softness of the sheets. Stripping off my coat and boots, until I was in nothing but a blue tanktop and blue silk shorts, I shut the lights and climbed under the sheets, staring at the city lights shining through my window. The blinds were not drawn but I didn't mind. The lights that illuminated my room were somehow soothing, and it gave me the nostalgia of replaying the past exciting events. I guess I was not going to be so lonely here after all. Tucking in my sheets around my head, I fell into a happy sleep.

...

Thats it for this chapter, review please!


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

I awoke the next morning to the smell of pancakes and ham. The luminosity that engulfed my room the night before was replaced by the bright sun, and I cringed, shielding my brown eyes by turning over and sitting up. Long brown hair draped against my form like a blanket as I stood up to walk out the door slowly, making sure to run my fingers across the messy locks that protruded from my head. Dad was most likely cooking downstairs and I wanted to be presentable. After all, I hadn't seen him for over six years. The only contact we had prior to my visit was through telephone calls and letters.

So I was understandably tense when I made my way down the stairs. I could feel the carpet under my bare feet, and it seemed like he vaccumed regularly to maintain its soft quality.

Stopping just short of the kitchen, I approached him calmly, curious wide eyes staring at the man that stood in front of the stove, flipping pancakes with a long silver fork. He turned at the sound of my footsteps, and blinked in surprise.

"Oh, you're awake, care to join me for breakfast?" His voice was low and controlled. He looked much different in person, a lot younger and more vibrant. His thick hands aged but his face had not. The only evidence of time was the grey hairs that lay in speckles on his head.

"Sure, goodmorning." I murmured with a smile, looking around at the drawers. Where did he keep the plates?

"Morning, How did you sleep? Do you like the room? I don't know what your taste in decoration is so I left it bare." He admitted, turning the stove button over into a low heat. He yanked open a cabinet door and grabbed two plates, setting them on the table. Dad worked as a chef in Ikebukuro, and despite living in a city known for its crazy rumors, he was a normal man that led a peaceful and quiet life. With a mellow and calm attitude, I had no idea how he once married my mom, who was crazy and quick tempered.

"It's nice, I don't mind, I like it how it is." I assured while taking a seat and watching slyly as he filled the plates with pancakes, ham, and eggs. He took out a half filled gallon of milk and poured some in two glass cups before bringing them to the table. "Thank you." I took my glass and adjusted it before me.

"Of course, are you nervous about attending a new school in a new country? You don't have to worry about the language, most people here can speak decent english, lots of russian too." He took a bite out of his eggs, charcoal eyes holding mine. By now he was probably wondering why my bangs were uneven on both sides.

"A little bit, but I already met two nice boys who are going there, one of them is new too, so It's not too bad, dad is it true that the black rider doesn't have a head?"I asked curiously, spreading maple syrup across the spongy surface of my pancakes.

"You already heard about that huh?" He stated between mouthfuls of food. He was a fast eater. "It's an urban legend, probably a hoax, no one can live without a head, just not logical."

"I see, yes you're right, that is impossible, it's still interesting though, I saw it with the boys I met last night." I muttered with a smile, cutting a triangle out of a pancake carefully to stab with my fork.

"Nice, good to know you already have some aquaintances,I will be leaving for work in a bit, and I'll be back around six, so I left the key by the door for you to take alright?" With a last huge bite, my dad got up and washed his plate in the sink. "Your mom was right, you eat like a bird." He muttered under his breath with a light chuckle.

I smiled, chewing the piece softly. "I can't help it, my food must be fully prepared and eaten in perfect shapes before it goes in my mouth."

Dad shot me a glance. "You weirdo, the food is gonna be digested anyway."

"I know, but its important to me, you don't understand." I murmured while cutting another triangle.

"I think you might have an ocd, anyway I'm off! If you need anything don't hesitate to give me a call." I listened to his retreating footsteps and the door slammed, signaling his departure.

Swinging my feet, I finished the rest of my meal in silence.

...

Damnit, I was lost.

The slight panic in my wide eyes were concealed by my oversized lightly tinted shades, but I was careful to keep a straight face anyway. I didn't want to look like an easy target to kidnappers or serial killers.

Walking the streets of Ikebukuro, I smoothed out my uniform nervously. A blue long sleeved shirt with a matching skirt and high socks. I expected a uniform, since this was japan and most schools required it. However, I was having difficulty adjusting to the shoes that came with it. I was used to wearing boots, so I felt like I was missing the heaviness of them. I stopped at the edge of a store and turned, clutching my phone. The directions were saying to go north but where was north? What the hell was north? I didn't understand direction language!

Distraught, I sat on the edge of the sidewalk to think before I hyperventilated. I didn't know where I was and there were lots of people around. This wasn't like being lost back in California. Where I could wonder long hours in vacant and silent peaceful streets, not worried that I was lost and sure to find my home in a few more hours. But here it was overwhelming. Too many cars and too many people going around. Sighing, I slid my finger across my phone to my contacts. Would Masaomi get bothered if I called him now? Was he in school yet? It started in thirty more minutes...Maybe he wouldn't. I was desperate. Just as I was about to click the call button on his number, a voice startled me and I looked up sharply.

That man from before. The sushi chef named Simon was leering down at me with a big grin. I had unexpectedly wandered by his restaurant again.

"Hello, Masaomi's friend right? Here to buy some sushi? It's good!" He boomed in that strange accent of his.

"Uhh." I opened my mouth dumbly before I scrambled up, dusting my skirt with my hand in the process. "No...actually, I'm going to school." I said, trying to appear confident while adjusting my shades.

"I see, come back when you come out of school." He said with a wave.

I nodded and turned right to begging walking. I was too embarrassed to admit I was lost...

"Ahana."

I stopped dead in my tracks at the sound of my name. Glancing at Simon, I waited.

"School is that way." He pointed to the left.

I deadpanned. Then turned to my left, walking past him quickly, muttering a 'thanks' in the process. He merely grinned with a knowing gaze and bowed as I walked on to my destination.

It wasn't long before I found Raira Academy. It was teeming with people in the same styled uniforms. Thankfully I wasn't late. Shoes scraped against the ground as I made my way inside the building. I had to slid my backpack halfway out to take out the crumpled piece of paper that held the information I was looking for. The room number was written in bold black letters and I gazed up at the signs adorning the top of the doorways, looking for it. This was the first floor, my room was in the third. Great, now I had to climb stairs everyday.

"Helloooo, nice to see you here today babes!" I instantly turned to find Masaomi clad in a blue uniform, grinning at me. If I didn't know him from our previous meeting he would have looked lecherous.

"Oh, hi!" I returned the grin and slid my eyes over to a nervous looking Mikado, who was looking around the hallway like a lost puppy.

"So, where are you heading to? Our class is in the third floor so we can escort you to yours if you want." The blonde swung an arm around my frame tightly so I stumbled, feeling awkward at the sudden closeness.

"U-um actually mine is on the third floor too." I wheezed. Mikado blinked.

"Ours is too, what room is it?" The raven haired boy asked.

I handed him the crumpled paper and he scanned through it. "Oh! Masaomi it's the same room as ours, we can go together then."

He handed me back the paper and I struggled to take it, shifting in the blondes clutches.

"Great! Isn't that a coincidence! Let's go then." Masaomi exclaimed cheerfully, dragging me upstairs while Mikado strained to keep up.

"By the way dude, why are you wearing a ladies bag?" Masaomi pointed out as we climbed the steps.

Mikado gasped loudly, holding his bag protectively. "It's not a ladies bag! It's a satchel and its popular in my old town!"

"Satchel, ladies bag, looks just about the same." Masaomi snickered, laughing as Mikado's face turned beet red. My own lips were threatening to tild up but I fought the urge. Poor Mikado.

"I believe you Mikado." I said to him with a warm glance.

"Thank you." He sighed in relief, making Masaomi scoff.

It didn't take long for us to find our classroom, and the blonde removed his arm to let me in first. It was fresh, with ordinary desks and chairs. I chose a seat in the middle of the classroom and set my bag down on the table, running my skirt down before sitting to avoid having the bare cold seat touch my thighs. I could feel silent stares as Mikado sat behind me, while Masaomi sat beside him.

Our teacher seemed to be a young man in his twenties with short wavy brown hair and almond shaped brown eyes that scanned the room like a hawk as people seated themselves in their choice of chairs.

I played with the keychain dangling on my backpack quietly as I waited. Everyone was silent, save for Masaomi's whispered as he urged Mikado to play with my hair, making the raven haired boy stutter a 'no way'.

Two minutes passed at the man in front walked across the room to shut the door. his skinny frame brought out his gaunt face. He looked tired, sporting a white dress shirt with professional pants, and a black tie, he also looked somehow familiar. I just couldn't quite place my finger on it.

After another minute of silence he cleared his thought and spoke out.

"Hello class, I will be taking roll call order, I do believe some of you have the same name so I will be saying the full name to avoid confusion okay?." His voice was shaky and a bit nervous, and there was no doubt about it. This was the guy the tall blonde was shouting at yesterday night, the one who owed money. This city was a small world...

The roll call started and saying a few things about you was optional. While most just rose a hand quietly, some were going all out to say where they were from and what they liked.

At Masaomi's name, the blonde rose quickly, grinning from ear to ear at the whole class. "What's up! Name's Ma-sa-oh-me, not mas-ow-me, so just keep that in mind! Although everyone usually thinks i'm this hot popular kid in school, but really i'm just a shy innocent teenager! I rock!" He giggled before sitting back down.

I stared at him in awe. How could he have so much confidence? I was shaking in my seat here! I was just going to raise my hand. That's it.

Rio, a quiet girl who sat by the windows rose and merely stated she didn't like anything, making most of us stare in silence. it was quick but the teacher wrote her extra points anyway.

Anri Sonohara, an even more quiet girl with short black hair stood up slowly, muttering something I couldn't hear. The teacher looked her over with a smile before seating her back.

"Ahana Kazane."

I tensed, and without realizing it, stood up like a moron, staring ahead with a confused look. Oh no...why did I stand up?! Realizing my mistake, I looked around to find people looking at me expectingly. I caught Masaomi's eye and he winked, light golden eyes twinkling with amusement. It should have given me a boost in confidence but it didn't. I could already feel my hands beginning to sweat. I wanted to disappear from this earth and never come back.

Well it was too late to sit now, I would make myself look even dumber. So I gulped and clenched the sides of my skirt. "Ummm, hi, I'm new here and I don't really know what else to say..." I muttered. I probably looked like I was seeing a ghost.

"Oh good, I do hope you enjoy this city." The teacher said with a smile before having me sit down. Thankful to have the stares shifted away from me, I complied and sat down.

Jeez...my body just acted on its own. It took a while for the roll call to end, with a few people missing, but it was only two. We were instructed to take out our notebooks to begin writing a few problems written on the board and I slid out my black binder carefully, making sure to fold my tinted glasses neatly before sliding them in my bag to put away.

"Psst, you could have done alot better Ahana, but your cool looks saved you from eternal damnation." Masaomi snickered over to me as I turned slightly.

Unsure if it was a good compliment or not, I merely nodded. "Y-yeah...thanks."

Mikado himself said the same thing I did and nothing more, but he looked a bit more controlled, if not a bit flustered. I felt like I had more in common with Mikado than the hyperactive blonde.

I began writing almost instantly, My brown eyes flickered past my messy bangs every now and then to the front. The teacher was weird. He looked like he was more interested in staring at us than in actual teaching.

"Okay class, I'm going to take a moment to introduce our new class rep, Anri Sonohara so you want to stand up and formally introduce yourself?" The short haired girl looked up at the sound of her name and nodded.

Pushing up her glasses with a finger, she grabbed a couple of loose leaf papers and stood in front of the class. Her eye's were downcast and the chocolate brown was barely evident, but I knew by her posture and voice that she was rather shy.

She stared down at the papers in hand and I could see her arms were slightly trembling.

"Um...I'm the new class rep...but there's no other class rep and there should be two, I was wondering if anyone wanted to volunteer?" She muttered meekly, looking around with an expression of defeat as the class stood silent. I felt a bit bad for her...but there was no way I was going to stand up there.

Just as she was about to bow and sit back down Mikado's hand rose up, surprising me.

"I do! I-I want to volunteer!" He spoke out quickly with an outstretched arm.

Everyone stared and I did not miss the sudden realization in his darkening eyes that read 'oh god what am I doing'. I almost burst out laughing. I could relate to his action, of standing up without thinking earlier.

"Ah good, Mikado Ryuugamine?" The teacher dug through a list and nodded in contempt. "Come stand next to Anri to mark you the new rep."

I could hear Mikado's gulp as he stood up and did as instructed. Light footsteps padded against the floor as my friend made his way to the front, standing an arms length away from the girl and facing the class. She looked curiously at Mikado with surprise of her own.

"Eh hello, um...I guess i'll be the the class representative along with Anri." Mikado murmured, trying to look calm and collected.

Nobody said anything, resulting in the two facing each other abruptly to shake hands firmly, each staring at one anothers eyes curiously.

Before they could pull their hands apart, the door swung open and a boy stepped in casually, making everyone turn silently.

"Excuse me, are you Seiji Yagiri, you never showed up for my other class." The teacher asked while flipping through his list again.

The boy nodded, brown eyes gazing hard at the older man before him. "I came here to say that I'm leaving, there is something I gotta do."

"Huh? What do you mean, your dropping out?" The teacher blinked in surprise, baffled at the sudden news.

"Yeah, goodbye." The boy, Seiji said flatly, before turning to leave while closing the door behind him.

"Ah...well what can I do?" The teacher sighed in defeat and turned his attention back to us. "You can sit down now, by the way you can all refer to me as Mr. Nasujima."

Anri and Mikado made their way back to their separate seats silently. I gave Mikado a reassuring grin as he past me by, tilting a pencil on my upper lip to appear silly and earning a small smile from him. I knew what it felt like to do what he did, and I respected him for it. Because no one wanted to be class rep.

...

"You know, if you guys look that boring, your gonna bore me to death." Masaomi whined. Iv'e only known him for a short while but I was already growing accustomed to him.

"Sorry." Mikado whispered. "I don't really know what to talk about."

We had been walking the streets of Ikeburuo, since Masaomi had coupons for the russian sushi restaurant he wanted us to try. School ended early, which wasn't surprising considering it was the first day. The two boys kept on pushing me into saying what my country was like. 'quiet, sunny, and warm with a hint of spraycans and trash.' Was my reply. California may have been the dream land of perfect climate, but that didn't mean it came without its ugly sides. Mikado was having a hard time believing it. Masaomi stayed half skeptical but eventually shrugged, stating there were ugly parts of the town in every country.

We stopped by a bridge to grab some drinks from a nearby vending machine and I watched with interest as Masaomi pushed in a few coins. With a clink, three sodas came bursting out from below and the cheerful blonde grabbed them, handing each of us a can.

"Oh...Masaomi you didn't have to buy mine." Mikado muttered, but nevertheless accepting the can.

"No problem dude, you can treat me later." The blonde grinned, handing me a grape flavored can.

I took it and inspected it. I wasn't very familiar with the hiragana written on the beverage, but a few symbols were readable. "Thanks...so in Japan you use yen?"

Masaomi nodded, taking out a few more coins and a paper dollar to show me. "Yeah, look this is what it looks like, a little different from American money and counted differently but I'm sure you'll get the hang of it, you don't have any yen Ahana?"

I shook my head, eyes flickering from the bronze colored coins to my can as I opened it, rising it to my lips to take a sip. It was good. "No, I have six thousand in American money called dollars or bucks that my mom from home gave me, I need to exchange it for yen..." I trailed off, licking my lips.

"Oh, you need to go to an exchange booth, or the money express, just give the card or money to the guy and he'll exchange it for you, there is one by your house a few blocks away." Masaomi advised.

"Okay, thanks for telling me." I replied with a smile.

"No problemo!" The blonde opened his soda and took a swig, gulping down as much as he could before bringing the can down again. i don't know about you guys but I was parched! Eh...hey do you hear that?"

He stopped and we followed cue to listen carefully. The sound of tires from cars passing by below the bridge sounded loudly, but there was more than that.

"It sounds like someone is arguing below the stairs." I pointed out.

Mikado nodded. "Yeah..."

We crept over to the edge quietly to avoid being seen, and peeked down. It was that girl from before, Anri. She was speaking to the boy with brown hair who left class.

The boy was about to turn to leave but Anri halted him by holding his arm. "Wait?! Can you please just tell me where Mika Harima is? I know she wouldn't just disappear!" She pleaded. Her voice still held that tone of bashfulness.

The boy tore his arm away angrily. "I told you I don't know anything!"

Those were his last words before he turned to leave, leaving the short haired girl looking down in defeat. After a while of just standing there, she too, turned to leave quickly, eyes hidden by charcoal chopped bangs.

"Well would you look at that, poor girl is still looking for Mika." Masaomi muttered, arms resting on the railing of the bridge while holding his can of soda carefully over it.

"Who's that?" I asked curiously. Mikado and I waited for Masaomi's reply after another swig.

"Some girl that went missing weeks ago, she and Anri were inseparable, but one day Mika just went poof! The police think she ran away from home, I wouldn't doubt it, the girl had issues." Masaomi muttered with a shrug.

"I see...poor Anri...it must be tough dealing with a missing best friend." Mikado whispered in sympathy.

Masaomi shot him a knowing look. "You know she has the hots for you right bro?"

Mikado gasped, face going red again. "No she does not!"

"Of course she does, I've seen the way she's been looking at you, hey Ahana, doesn't he look cute?" Masaomi laughed as he pointed at his friend, who was looking flustered now.

I blinked. "I suppose."

"No! You don't have to answer that!" Mikado shrieked, waving his hands around in front of him. I couldn't help it, I laughed along with Masaomi.

"I think it's about time we left to get something to eat!" Mikado stammered, stomping down the bridge. Masaomi and I exchanged glances before hurrying after the shy brunette.

...

"Finally! You come to try my sushi! It's good, you wont be disappointed."

Simon had served us a big plate to share between the three of us. A family sized combo with three different flavors of sushi stood freshly made and ready to eat. I liked the round size they came in.

"Awesome! Thanks Simon, i'll pay upfront now though cos I gotta bounce in an hour!" Masaomi stated happily, opening his wallet to retrieve a couple of dollars to hand to the russian chef.

I had to remember to treat him next time I changed my own money for yen.

"Okay not a problem!" The chef took the money and waved at us with a smile. "Enjoy!" He left, his white attire reminded me of a karate suit.

"Russian sushi...that sounds so weird...what does this even taste like?" Mikado picked up his chopsticks and grabbed a piece with mystery red balls in it. He chewed, and squeezed his eyes shut as he removed the empty chopsticks. "Hmmm! It's spicy!"

Masaomi grabbed a similar piece with his own chopsticks and poured chili sauce on it before popping it into his own mouth. "You wuss, only real asians can handle the heat!"

I stared at my own set of unused chopsticks. I had no idea how to use them...but it couldn't hurt to try. Holding them clumsily in an attempt to imitate how they were holding theirs, I struggled a bit to squeeze a sushi piece between them.

"Don't worry girl, you'll get used to these with practice." Masaomi assured, choosing a different piece to pop into his mouth.

"Y-yeah..." I murmured, concentrating hard on bringing the red sushi into my mouth. The taste exploded and I made a face similar to Mikado's. "Jesus its spicy." I said in between chewing. The red balls were filled with some sort of chili sauce, pouring into the rice and crab meat with each bite. "But it's good..." I stated once I swallowed. I took a long sip of my soda.

"Yeah, try these shrimp ones with pepper, its bitter and sweet." Mikado encouraged.

I complied and popped one into my mouth. This one was better and easier to chew. The shrimp pieces were delicious. "Cajun is my favorite, all that garlic can get to you in the bathroom though." Masaomi sighed, dipping said piece in the chunky sauce before taking a bite.

"But its worth it right? I like cajun too, there's a restaurant named CLAWS back in California that serves seafood with the garlic, the shrimp is served in these big bags and the service is really good, they even take care so you wont get dirty by giving you a plastic vest, its one of my favorite places to go." I said with a smile, remembering the delicious lemony smells and the pepper that could be used as dipping. I was going to miss it.

"Sounds good, not sure if they have anything like that around here tho, but they have various cajun restaurants." Masaomi stated.

"Yeah, by the way, why did you dye your hair blonde?" Mikado asked curiously. "Not that it doesn't suit you."

Masaomi shrugged. "Don't know, just wanted to try something different I guess, besides, blonde is totally in right now!" He did a strange gesture, which made Mikado and I shake our heads. Masaomi was weird alright...

...

The three of us had parted ways after an hour because Masaomi had to leave to run an errand, leaving Mikado and I walking together to our homes. The sun was setting and it gave me a feeling of nostalgia. I had always walked home back in Cali from school in the sunset.

"Mikado." I whispered with contempt, making the boy glance at me questioningly.

"Yes?"

"I'm glad I met you on that train, if it wasn't for you I would be really lonely right now." I muttered, eyes downcast. It was strange and rare of me to pour my mind out like this. But it was impossible not to do so with Mikado. He was just so quiet and understanding.

"Oh, I-im glad, actually I was kind of lonely on that train too, and its always fun to meet new people." He said with a smile.

I nodded. "Yes it is, thank you very much for taking care of me...that's something you say in japan right?" I asked. From what I had heard, it was the equivalent of saying thanks for being kind.

"Yeah...but its kind of outdated, you're welcome anyway, it was nice having you around...so I guess this means we are becoming friends?" Mikado asked the question I had been wondering myself.

I nodded, happy and excited. "Yes! If...thats okay with you?"

"Of course!" He exclaimed, smiling at me with warmth. It may have seemed silly, partway because we were acting like children, after all only children asked permission for friendship nowadays. but it seemed right with Mikado.

We stopped by a stop light and parted ways to each street. I hugged my body for warmth as I made my way downhill where Mikado instructed to go, all the while confused that I still didn't know where I lived.

I sighed and shivered as cold wind brushed my bare legs. Masaomi had said that the exchange booth was around my house. I just had to wander around and I would find it eventually. All of my money was in a debit card. so it shouldn't take long to do.

Crossing the next street, I watched as the cars sped towards the changing light. It was always busy in this city...with so much noise and things happening. But that only added to the excitement. Finally...my life was changing for the better.

I passed by several people and turned the corner to find it. The exchange booth was a few feet away. Masaomi was right, it was only two blocks away from my home. I made my way over to the building quickly, brand new shoes slamming against the pavement in rythmth. The sky was getting dark, and I wanted to hurry to avoid having to wander around in the nightlife of this city. I was a bit paranoid of the so called color gangs that Mikado mentioned.

I got to my destination in five minutes and walked up to the guy behind the window. He looked at me expectedly as I slid in my I.D and card. "I want to exchange this for yen." My voice, usually soft, strained to be louder than the background noise of the city to be heard.

He nodded and turned to the cashing machine behind him, sliding in my card to get a new one featuring japanese symbols. I waited patiently, looking around the city. The lights from every restaurant and building had come on, giving it its party nightlife appearance again.

"Here you go."

I turned towards the man as he slid in my I.D and my card back out for me to grab and I took it, thanking him before leaving. Looking over my new card, I walked quietly down the street. It was a bronze card with a golden tint. The symbol for yen replaced the american dollar symbol. Well this was good, now I could actually spend money.

I turned a curve, and spotted the restaurant we were in hours ago. I halted, looking around in confusion. Oh no...I was lost again. Taking out my phone, I punched in my address in google maps and turned on navigator. Alright...I wasn't too far. Eight minutes away from home walking, I could manage that. Turning around, I followed the little arrow quietly, feet padding against the floor in quick little motions, pale brown hair swayed in the wind. I needed to get home fast before dad freaked out on me.

Turning another curb, I waited for the light to turn red patiently, as I hit the button a few times. My fingers were getting cold from the night air.

"Heyyy, you from Raira?"

I turned at the voice that called out. A young man with nappy blonde walked over to me, grinning and looking me over from head to toe as two others joined him.

I nodded slowly, inching back a little, wishing I had brought spare clothes instead of being out in my uniform. Could he see my eyes behind my glasses? I was uncomfortable with the way I was being approached. He was sizing me up like I was prey or something.

"Heh, you look pretty, wonna come with me for a good time?" His face inched closer to mine and I frowned, repulsed. His breath stank of beer.

"No thanks." I said flatly, turning away from him and wrinkling my nose.

Offended, he growled out something I couldn't make sense of and roughly grabbed me by my wrist. "Ehh? You rejecting me?!" He hissed, putrid breath hitting my nose so hard I almost passed out.

Kicking him in the knee, he let go with a howl and I ran once the light turned red, not bothering to look back as he shouted obcenities at me. Hair going wild, I huffed and turned a corner, slamming into something hard, and falling back with the impact.

Groaning, I sat up from the sidewalk slowly, rubbing my head in the process and looking up at what I ran into. My eyes widened at the sight before me. It was that man...the tall blonde one Masaomi warned me about. But I had forgotten his name. It was on the tip of my tongue but I couldn't recall it. He stared down at me with a frown, eyes holding annoyance,as they were somewhat visible though his blue shades. I had bumped into his stomach and chest it seemed. Did it hurt him? Suddenly, my own wellbeing didn't matter, because I was remembering the way he almost pulverized my teacher for owing him money. So I got up and dusted myself off quickly before taking off my shades to look up at the man. He was so tall...my head reached just below his shoulders so I had to strain my neck to make eye contact.

"Uh...I'm so sorry! Are you alright?" I asked with concern, refraining from touching his person. Who knew how he would react to that?

He didn't say anything, he merely blew out smoke from his cigarette and threw it away into the floor. Now that he was up close, I could see he was rather unkept. With messy hair that was unbrushed and loose sleeves that were not buttoned.

Feeling the awkward silence stretch for too long, I bowed, hitting my head on a nearby rail by accident like an idiot. "Ow!" I yelped, clutching it. Looking up in an embarrassed manner, I managed a lame laugh. "Okay..I uh...I-I gotta go, sorry I didn't know you were there."

Just as I was about to turn to leave, I felt a hard yank on the collar of my dress shirt, making me gasp and run forward behind the tall man, using him to put distance between me and the angry blonde that had seemingly ran after me in a rage. His face, contorted in an ugly scowl turned up to leer at his new obstical, he pointed at the taller man before him.

"Hey you! Fucking bartender! Get out of the way, I found this bitch first-Sh...Shhhh...Shizuooo Heiwajimaaa." His voice fell into a frightened squeak as he spoke out the mans name, eyes wide with dread. That's right. It was Shizuo. Masaomi seemed to know him as dangerous.

I stared in anticipation as Shizuo clenched his teeth, making an angry sound from deep inside his throat. "What the hell are YOU pointing at?!" He growled in a deep voice. I flinched. This was the first time Iv'e heard someone sound so aggressive. I felt like my life was in danger. I had to leave here fast.

"N-Nothing! I uh...Ahhhh!" The blonde and his friends ran away with speed equal to a rabbits, making me scream as well. Turning, I ran, feet padding against the floor so hard I was sure I would have soreness after my run. Why was I even running? It wasn't like the scary mans anger was directed at me. But his voice was like a ruthless animals. I was sure he hurt me if I didn't get away. It was like being close to a lion.

Once I was sure I was a good distance away from both the scary blonde and the pervert, I slowed down and spotted the familiar fence that covered my home. Sighing in relief, I strode over there calmly, feeling my heart beat slowing down as I took even breaths to calm down. Tonight was a crazy night after all.

...

Hope you enjoyed!


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

'Dear Miki,

I just moved in two days ago and I met two new people on my first day. The city is kind of scary at night, can you believe I got assaulted by a perv? I think the skirts in my academy are too short. But I was fine because another man saved me, kind of, He's mean, well he looks mean I don't really know him, but he's notorious for being dangerous around here, and he scared the perv off. Don't laugh but I got scared too and ran away. They have a cool sushi place over here too, you like sushi right? How are things with you? I hope you are doing fine, I miss you!'

The mouse made a smooth scraping sound over the wood as it was moved forward to hoover over the button on the screen. 'SEND', I clicked. There, my short email was sent to my best friend back in my original home town. A medium height girl with thin rimmed glasses and long wavy hair. She was rather quiet but giddy when I really got to know her. I nearly cried when we parted ways, but my coming here was inevitable. Mom wasn't stable, and my dad wanted me to stay with him for the time being.

Moving my mouse over to log off my email account, It hoovered over the google toolbar. The word dollars hung there but I haven't clicked the search button yet since I was busy sending the email to my friend.

I clicked, and several websites stood up, along with wiki sites and questions about it on yahoo answers. I clicked the first link, and my screen went black. The word Dollars were written in small colorful assembled dots with a circle around it. I blinked curiously, bringing my cruiser down to the password toolbar. Was this the site for those anonymous gang members? I had searched it up because I was curious about it. So far I had found that two gangs existed here in the city. The yellow scarfs and the blue squares. Then there were the dollars, whom no one knew.

I stared at the blinking cruiser, and moved my mouse over to the toolbar to open a new tab. My slim fingers moved as I typed in, password for dollars website. Various results came up and I didn't have to click on anything to know it. There, on the bottom of a link, someone wrote the password was Boccano. I tilted my head in surprise. An anime title? I was skepticle but still went back to the other tab to try it. Once it was typed in, I clicked enter and I was thrown into another page. Similar black style with grey speech rectangles. I was in. No way, surely a website for the dollars couldn't be this easy to get into? With an anime title for the password no less. Nevertheless, I scrolled down to see what people were posting. It was random happenings around Ikebukuro. And there were different tabs for different posts, even one for joining the Dollars. Curious, I clicked on that one and read through it. The katakana and Kanji were confusing, but most of the symbols were readable. it seemed the owner of this site was anonymous, but was recruiting and inviting anyone to join the dollars on this website. All I needed to do was make an account and join, there was a chatroom available to sync it with my phone too.

I moved the cruiser over to the top part of the page where it said sign in. Should I? What kind of group were the Dollars anyway? They seemed friendly on this site...

Just as I was about to click, my door burst open and my dad came in, making me scream and hug my body, which was only covered in a dingy blue towl.

"Oh! Sorry Sorry! I'm not used to having you around." He spoke out quickly, closing the door while he stepped out. "Uh, breakfast is on the table! I have to go!" His muffled voice sounded from the other side of the wood.

"Okay!" I called out. I waited until his footsteps receeded before shutting my laptop and standing up. I should have locked my door...but I guess it was good that he interrupted me. I was so caught up in my online snooping that I hadn't noticed it was getting late. Taking my towl off, I bent my body to dry my hair, making sure it wasn't too damp for I didn't want to wet my uniform. After I was done I quickly got dressed and flung my red plaid backpack over my back to head downstairs. Dad had made some pasta with mushroom and mashed potatoes with chunks of gravy covered beef. This was breakfast? More like dinner. I grinned as I served myself a good portion to eat on my way to school. No more time should be wasted at hom after all, since I was 70% sure I would get lost on my way to school.

...

"Ahh...I can't wait for the weekend...school is such a pain." Masaomi whined as we walked out of class into the hallway. Classes had ended and we decided to head for the roof to have a talk with what Masaomi called 'Kyohei's group.'

"It's barely the second day and you're already complaining..." Mikado muttered with disapproval.

"Cmon, you seriously gotta admit that guy we have for a teacher is painfully boring...and besides...I think hes a total pervert, Iv'e seen the way he looks at Anri, makes me sick to my stomach, I hate it when older guys prey on younger girls man." Masaomi replied with a sour face.

"Maybe you're just imagining it?" Mikado didn't sound really convinced.

"No way man! I know that look! It's the look of rape!" The blonde squealed, making typing motions with his hands in the air.

"I encountered a perv last night too cos I got lost..." I murmured, pulling my oversized shades up as we ascended the stairs to the roof.

Mikado and the blonde glanced at me curiously. "You were lost? Are you okay? What happened?"

Their barrage of questions made me think back as I spoke out. "Some guy with tangled blonde hair and two others tried to make me go with them...I got grossed out so I kicked him because he grabbed me and I ran, but you know, I totally ran into that man you mentioned, Shizuo, and he scared them off."

Masaomi blinked. "Yeah...they probably confronted him without knowing who he was, be careful though, don't piss off Shizuo Heiwajima, he's dangerous, what else did those guys look like?"

"HHmm...yellow clothing, the one in the middle seemed to be the leader or something." I muttered, wrinkling my nose as I remembered the stench of liquor on his breath.

"Harada?" Masaomi whispered with a faraway look in his eyes. "Those were probably the yellow scarfs, they usually hang out downtown so try to avoid going there by yourself, your so petite, such an easy target." Masaomi huffed, patting my head. I resisted the urge to swat his hand away.

"That's scary...I'm glad you're alright! I can escort you back home next time." Mikado offered politely, earning a huge grin from Masaomi.

I shook my head. "Thanks but I can manage."

Masaomi was the one to open the door for us as we made our way outside. The sun shone bright but because of my glasses, the world I saw was a light shade of grey.

"Yo! Masaomi." An older boy sporting a black top beanie akin to his blue uniform waved at us. Beside him sat Erika and Walker. They were eating snacks on the bench that stood a few inches away from the railing surrounding the roof. The other boy with long dirty blonde hair that reached his shoulders, stood away from them, texting vigerously.

Mikado and I followed Masaomi as he made his way towards the trio. "Yo whats up Kyohei! this is Ahana and Mikado, they are new Ikebukurians!" The blonde cheered happily.

Mikado frowned. "Whats an Ikebukurian? Is that even a word?"

Masaomi facepalmed."It is now!" his smile didn't waver as he spoke.

"Nice to meet you guys, want some?" The beanie boy, Kyohei offered the three us a plus sized bag of potatoe chips.

"Ah, thank you." Mikado muttered, reaching in to take a handful. Masaomi and I did the same, and I popped one into my mouth, enjoying the salty flavor of the crunchy treat.

"So, how are you guys?" Erika chirped from her perch on the bench without looking up from her manga book. She and Walker were engrossed in it.

"Fine fine, can't complain, Ahana here had a near death experience with Shizuo Heiwajima, almost got raped by the yellow scarfs, Mika Harima is still missing, you know, the usual in friendly Ikebukuro." Masaomi spoke out between mouthfuls of chips.

I nearly choked on mine as Kyohei looked over to me. " You okay? That guy can be ruthless, but you know I think deep down he just wants to be left alone, welcome to Ikebukuro." He said with a serious expression, charcoal eyes holding me in their trance. "Iv'e never seen him hit a girl though so I think your safe from him as long as you stay out of his hair."

I shot a glare Masaomi's way and he mouthed a 'sorry.'

"Anyway...I wanted to ask, what do you guys think about the Dollars?" Mikado exclaimed with transfixed eyes.

Kyohei shrugged. "They're a dangerous group, they haven't specifically done anything as of yet, but any group thats anonymous is shady as hell, right Erika?"

"Yup!" the girl giggled. Something is the manga was funny.

"I see...who do you think they are?" I asked next. I was curious about them too.

"Don't know, could be anybody really, even the headless rider, wouldn't hold it against that person to be in it tho, It's just a rumor but I heard the dollars have some pretty eccentric and weird members, theres a website on it you know, every member is anonymous but the things they post are strange as hell." Kyohei finished, popping some chips in his mouth. I could hear the crunching even with his mouth closed.

"Yeah Iv'e been to that website, you need a password, which regulates older people from staying away I guess, word of it spread really fast for us highschoolers." Masaomi said with a yawn, wiping the leftover crumbs from his hand on his pants.

"Yup, well, I gotta go in a bit, your welcome to stay here if you want, just make sure to keep the door locked when you leave, don't want a teacher noticing we've been up here." Kyohei stated.

"No thanks, I gotta show these two around downtown! They only know this side of Ikebukuro." Masaomi said with a smirk.

"Alright, later!" The group of four waved as we headed back downstairs.

"So we're going downtown? What's it like?" Mikado asked once we were out of the school campus. We walked down the street in steady paces, with Masaomi in the middle.

"You'll see, it may look quirky and all, but it's also the place where the yellow scarfs hang so avoid going there alone, the blue squares hang uptown almost near shinjuku." Masaomi halted in a corner to turn, and we followed.

"Didn't you say the color gangs were non existant? You lied..." Mikado murmured with pout.

"I didn't lie man, the gangs are there, but they stopped making chaos ever since Shizuo Heiwajima graduated. He roams the streets a lot and wont hesitate to kick anyone's ass if they start something, so that pretty much neutralized both gangs." Masaomi defended casually.

"I see..." Mikado murmured.

We spent a good ten minutes getting to where Masaomi wanted, and I instantly knew what he meant about 'quirky'. The streets were filled with people, with many weird shops and round cul-de-sacs that were decorated with modern style art. It looked like a cool place to be in. It was vibrant and lively.

"Wow, I can't look at everything at once!" I said excitedly, eyes darting everywhere to take in my surroundings. I liked this part of the city right away. It had an arcade-like feel to it. Plus it was full of people my age so I instantly felt like I blended in.

"Take your time sweet cheeks! I can tell you all the hot spots for fun in a second!" Masaomi exclaimed cheerfully, steering me near a vending machine by pressing his hand behind my back and guiding me forward. I was getting used to the touchy gestures by now.

"Let me treat you guys this time." I said with a warm smile, taking my wallet out of my backpack to retrieve my card. "I exchanged my money for yen yesterday before that whole ordeal with the ugly blonde, I have lots to spend anyway too!"

Masaomi rose his arms over his head. "Yeah you're balling! Ugly blonde huh?" He laughed, blonde locks swaying as he threw his head back. "You're pretty blunt Ahana, don't say that so loudly around here though."

"Wasn't planning on it." I replied, shoving the card into the machines slot and punching in some numbers. Three soda cans popped out and I grabbed them, retrieving my card to put away. Turning to him, I tossed him his can and the blonde caught it in midair.

"Thanks!" He stated as he opened the can. Tilting his head back, he took a long drink, making his throat move with the action.

"No problem!" I replied. I turned around to hand the other one to Mikado but he was a few feet away from me, crouching behind the buildings wall and peering into an alley. What was he doing?

"Yo! Mikado, what are you up to?" Masaomi was probably wondering the same thing because he walked forward, shoes lightly tapping against the floor as he made his way towards the raven haired boy. I followed close behind, opening my own drink.

When we caught up with Mikado, Masaomi and I kneeled to take a peek at whatever it was that had Mikado entranced and my eyes widened. It was Anri. She stood in the middle of the alley, holding a brown bag in her hands with her head looking downwards. Three preppy girls with fake angel wings were sneering and cursing at her, hoovering over the smaller girl in dominance.

"Check it out...that girl is totally getting bullied." Masaomi whispered in an even tone. Golden eyes held no emotion as he watched.

"Someone should do something...should we do something?" Mikado sounded eager...even desperate. His deer-like eyes were wide with worry.

"Yeah, we should help her." I added, expression matching Mikado's. I hated seeing someone getting picked on.

"No, we can't do anything. That taller girl in the middle with long brown hair and cheap makeup is the girlfriend of some obnoxious gang member, we'll just end up getting mixed up in business we should avoid." Masaomi muttered regretfully, inching back a bit.

"But...we can't just let them bully her." Mikado sounded stressed.

We continued to watch, silently hoping the girls would just leave the shorter one alone. But they didn't. They kept on swearing insults, calling her useless and annoying, only stuck up with Mika Harima, but now that the girl was gone they proclaimed they could do what they wanted to Anri. One of the girls, a pouty one with pastel pink hair, slid her hand against Anri's hair, flipping it back in a mocking motion. I couldn't stand it any longer, just as I was about to step up, I halted at the sound of a voice behind me.

"Are you gonna do anything?"

The three of us turned and looked up to see a medium height man seemingly around his early twenties. Raven black hair similar to Mikado's but longer, was smooth in contrast to his white skin. Bright brown eyes watched us and he smiled. There was something about him that made me distrust him instantly. The way he watched us with amusement, showing a row of perfectly white teeth, was weird. He was also dressed all in black, sporting a long coat with fuzzy fur at the ends of the sleeves, the hood, and the hem of the garment. Black pants and dress shoes were also a deep midnight black. It was an odd combination of clothing, and it made me rethink his age. Maybe he was eighteen too?

"Huh?" Mikado grunted, eyes blinking against the suns rays as the man continued to watch us.

"You wonna be a hero don't ya?" His voice caught me by surprise. Instead of being annoyingly high pitched, it was low and soft, holding a delicacy that matched his flawless skin and confident eyes. He was...rather cute in an odd way.

"Uhhh, well no I mean...um...ahh!" Mikado stammered as the man grabbed hold of Mikado by his shoulder, brushing past Masamoi and I to steer my friend towards the girls.

Frowning, I followed behind quickly, unsure of what was happening. Who was this guy? What was he doing with Mikado? My questions were soon answered when the guy, clad in black, roughly pushed Mikado from his back into the girls, making my friend stumble and inch forward awkwardly.

Mikado stood in between Anri and the ugly trio, looking around in confusion and embarrassment.

Angry, I flung my soda forward to the furry coat guys face, making the contents of the can splash against white skin as the man cringed, shutting his eyes with the impact of the liquid. Face drenched in rasberry flavored sweetness, the guy slid a hand to drape his soaked hair out of his forehead. Masaomi only stared at me as if I had lost it.

"How rude...what was that for?" He muttered in a controlled low pitched voice. It was like velvet. His eyebrows were scrunched down in a confused frown.

"You pushed my friend." I stated flatly.

He blinked, squinting down at me silently.

"Who are you? Get out of here." One of the girls, the tall one with dark skin and long brown hair stepped up. Masaomi was right, she had cheap gogo pink lipstick that was way too bright for her skin color.

the soda drenched guy shifted his eyes from me to the girl, smirking slightly as he stepped forward. "Bullying people is lame, its pathetic really, it does nothing but prove how ugly and insecure you are." His smirk widened once he was directly in front of the girl. His lean frame made him look spider-like.

The girl scoffed. "What are you like forty? Butt out..."

"Listeeeen." Soda boy interrupted. "It's not my fault if you girls get pummeled to death and die, human beings are weak things, you can stand there and bag on my age when I'm really just twenty three, anyway your so beneath me it doesn't even matter..."

The girls stood silent, staring wide eyed at the sudden threat.

"But, beating up chicks isn't my shtick, so I think the best next thing I could do." A sudden movement caught my eye but I didn't make it out in time. A swishing sound echoed past the girls shoulder and her bag fell, its contents spilling out in the process. The guy bent to pick up a pink cellphone within the mess. "Is take your precious cell phone." He dropped it, the object bouncing on impact, but not long before a foot came down on it hard. "And break it."

I stared, wide eyed, at the scene before me. The cellphone was getting crushed to smithereens by the stomping foot that kept coming down on it repeatedly. The guy was laughing loudly while he was doing it too, as if this was the most hilarious thing he had ever done in his life.

The girl herself stood there, shocked, head bobbing up and down at the motions of furry coat's leg. Everyone was speechless. But after a while, furry coat stopped, resting his foot against the walkway once again.

"Now I'm bored." He breathed. Standing there with hands in his coat pockets in all his sassy glory. "Stepping on phones is no longer my hobby."

"Haaaaah! Babe!" The girl shrieked. A taller male that I hadn't noticed before stood in front of the three girls.

"Yo yo yo! You don't know who you're messin with punk! I'll beat you into a bloody pulp punk ass kid!" The taller male raged on, grabbing his spongy yellow hair with one large hand and his crotch over baggy pants with his other. I made a face at the gesture and so did Anri.

"Ooooh! Violence! I'm so scaared!" Furry coat whined sarcastically, grin not faltering for a second.

"Babe do something!" The dark skinned girl commanded, earning a grunt from the repulsive crotch-grabbing brute in front of us.

"Stomping on my girls cellphone! You asked for it punk!" I stepped back in a flinching reflex as the brute charged forward towards furry coat, arm raised to land a punch. I was only inches behind the black-clad guy after all. but I felt a tug on my arm. Masaomi pulled me out of the way as the brute missed, hitting thin air as furry coat danced around him with hands outstretched in the air.

"Whoa! That was close!" Furry coat exclaimed with a grin. His arms were still outstretched high above him, giving me full sight of a switch blade held in one clean hand. Did he stab him?

Looking back at the brute, brown eyes widened when I spotted spongy hair falling in a perfect oval, revealing a shiny bald head. "What the?!" The male reached up to feel the shaved spot in disbelief. No way...did furry coat really just do that? He gave the guy a hair cut while juking him for christ sake!

The girls screamed, running past the five of us in fear, and the brute followed after him, clutching his head while whimpering like a dog.

"Well! That's that!" Furry coat muttered with a chuckle, folding his small blade before tucking it into his coat.

...

It was a good thing Anri had knleenix napkins in her bag, because I felt slightly guilty about the whole soda business to furry coat. If it wasn't for him, Anri would have been possibly hurt by the girls after all. Each of us stood in front of the vending machine I had purchased soda from earlier, while furry coat stood in front of the four of us on the edge of the walkway. He was wiping whatever remaining soda he had clinging to his hair slowly, eyes staying on me in particular.

"Can't believe you threw that at me for no good reason...that wasn't nice."

"Sorry."

It was the only thing I could mutter as I averted my eyes, pushing up my shades to keep from nervously fidgeting.

"Now I'll have to shower, it's sticking to my face." His frown deepened and a sigh escaped his lips.

"What are you doing here Izaya? Don't you live in shinjuku?" Masamoi's voice startled me. It held quiet hostility that was alien to his usual cheerful demeanor.

So his name was Izaya. His gaze swept from me over to Masaomi carefully, and he grinned, shifting slightly to face the blonde. "Oh what's wrong? Not happy to see me? Aren't we still friends Masaomi?."

The blonde said nothing, only met his gaze sternly as the slightly taller male back to Mikado and I, he said, "By the way, my name is Izaya Orihara, I don't recall ever seeing you three around Ikebukuro before."

Mikado and I exchanged glances, knowing full well Izaya was on the list of Masaomi's 'who to avoid' page. But he didn't look at all threatening with his lean frame and attractive features. The only thing that spelled trouble was his devious smirk and hard brown eyes that were filled with curious intensity. His demeanor reeked of deceit. My guess was that the guy was a pathological liar.

"This is Anri Sonohara, Ahana Kazane, and Mikado Ryuugamine." Masaomi introduced us reluctantly.

Izaya's eyes flickered over to Mikado and he smirked. "Ryuugamine huh...sounds like an air conditioner."

Nobody said anything for a while. We stared awkwardly at Izaya until he himself, broke the ice. "Well...to ease your curiosity of me being in Ikebukuro, I actually came here to meet with someone."

"Oh..." Was all that Masaomi muttered. I eyed him with concern. What was his deal with Izaya? It was like the giddy, happy boy I knew was gone and replaced with a sulking teenager.

Izaya went on, mouth opening as he talked about having other business in the city as well, but I wasn't paying attention. My gaze had gone from Izaya to the sky. Under my shades, I didn't see the bright blue sky that everyone else saw, but a slightly grey one with an object flying through the air. It dived towards us in slow motion, twirling and spinning with its heaviness on gravity. I didn't have time to react. The thing just slammed into Izaya with such force, it made the guy go flying with it. The four of us jumped, startled out of our minds with the crashing sound the object caused as it tumbled a few feet away from us, leaving Izaya sprawled on the floor.

"That was like...A convenience store trash can...that came flying at us! But why?" Mikado stammered, baffled at what just happened. We weren't the only ones who were surprised. Many passerby's had stopped to look at the boy on the ground, completely knocked away a few feet by the trash bin.

"Holy shiiiit!" Masaomi snickered, obviously wanting to laugh at the whole incident. Anri and I said nothing, only stared in confusion. Where the hell did that thing even come from?

"Well well...what's up! Izaya."

All four of us turned to see familiar, messy, blonde locks swaying in the wind as Shizuo stepped up towards us calmly, sliding his shades off of his face to tuck into his shirt. Narrow eyes stared ahead in triumph, a deep dark brown that were wild with anger. "Didn't I tell you to stay out of Ikebukuro?"

Getting up slowly, Izaya clutched his head in a caressing motion, most likely aching from pain. "Shizu chan..." He muttered to himself as he stood up, removing his hand to let it fall on his side. "Last I heard you were in some gig down in a bar by the east gate."

"Heh! Got fired ages ago, and I'm pretty sure I told you never to call me that...my name is Shizuo Heiwajima try to get it right!" The taller male growled.

"Ah! Shizuo Heiwajima! That's the other guy we are absolutely not to piss off!" Mikado exclaimed.

"So I framed you for something you didn't do...why do you gotta get so mad?" Izaya sneered, grin stretching in mockery.

"Oh I'm not mad...I just wanna beat the shit out of you." Shizuo's grin matched Izaya's, only his eyes were wide and feral. I was sure he could smell my fear a mile away.

"You know the problem with you is Shizu-chan...is that you can't be persuaded by reason and that's bad...really bad!" The black-clad male reached into his cat pocket and flicked open his switchblade, aiming it at the angry blonde. "Now let me go."

I stared at the two men glaring holes at each other. So they knew each other before...but why were they at each others throats? What did the raven haired boy frame Shizuo for to make him want to chuck and trash bin at him? I had to get out of here...we were in the middle of all this crossfire.

"There he is! Get him!"

I turned my head to see a mob of ten people running towards us with bats and plank pieces of wood, surrounding us all in a big circle. Oh no...what did we get ourselves into now? I was getting scared out of my mind.

"No punk ass bitch makes a fool out of me!" One of the gang members uttered loudly, glaring at Izaya. His head was covered in a beanie but I knew instantly who he was. The girls boyfriend who had his head shaved.

"Yeah you don't go messing around with the dollars." The chubby guy beside baldy said, lips pouted in an attempt to look intimidating. It wasn't working. So they were part of the dollars group...

"Hey...who is this guy?"

"Yeah what's with the bartender..."

"I dunno, dude wasn't here a minute ago."

"Wait...is that...Shizuo Heiwajima?!"

Voices spoke out as some of the men contemplated Shizuo, making the blonde turn his head in annoyance.

"What the hell do YOU want!?" His rough deep voice penetrated fear into me, just like last time. And I knew the same could be said for the men because half of them were shaking, eyes wide with intense fear as realization dawned on them. The guy who spoke out Shizuo's name looked like he was about to run away.

Without warning, one of the men screamed, charging at Shizuo with an outstretched bat and slamming it against the blondes head, and making Shizuo stumble forward awkwardly. Everyone gasped as the tall male growled out, clutching his head as he bent to let blood trickle down into the floor.

"Hehehe..." Murmurs of contempt were carried out around the men, but soon died off when Shizuo rose, face bloody with the open wound that was inflicted upon him.

"You aimed for my head." He whispered. If his loud growls scared me before, then his low pitched voice almost made me faint. For it was evident that he was beyond pissed. His low tone held the meaning that he was out for blood. It was scarier than any angry scream that could escape those lips of his. "You ought to know that a blow like that can kill a man right?"

The guy said nothing. He merely stood there, holding a broken bat, shaking at the sound of Shizuo's rant.

"Which means you were trying to kill me right?!"

His voice was rising with each sentence, and he turned around to look the offender straght in the eye with wild brown hue's.

"So whatever happens next...is what you deserve right?!"

It was at that moment that my can of half-full soda slipped from my hand,tumbling down into the floor and rolling forward into the street behind Shizuo. Without thinking, I followed it, feet lightly tapping as I stood a few inches behind the taller male. I bent to pick up the can, and rose as I did so, not aware of the elbow that was making its way to my face.

Only when I felt the painful impact did I realize I should have left the stupid can. Waves of pain seared through my nose as Shizuo's elbow collided with it, making my head snap back and sending my body sprawling to the floor. I landed on my butt, stars flickering in my eyesight as I took in the sight of the blondes fist smashing against the poor guys face. He flew several feet into the sky, losing his clothing as he flipped across the air with the powerful impact. The sound of flesh hitting concrete sounded as he landed several feet away from us, clad in white briefs.

I felt arms wrap themselves around my waist and looked up with wide eyes at Masaomi as he carried me up quickly, grunting as he did his best to drag me out of the way. I was instantly glad he did too, because now the other men were attacking Shizuo, and it was a blood bath. He was greatly outnumbered but the blonde couldn't be stopped. He was on a rampage, jumping and punching everyone around him into a bloody mess. Eventually, those who didn't approach him left their weapons and ran away.

"Why are yall runnin!? We outnumber this bitc-" A hard kick from the bartender sent the beanie guy flying facefirst into the wall.

"Well! Gotta go! Thanks for taking care of those guys for me Shizu-Chan!" Izaya's sing-song tone reached the blondes ears, and he glared at the fleeing male with clenched teeth.

"Where do you think you're going?! Izayaaaaaaa!" The blonde stomped towards the sidewalk besides Masaomi and I, making us cringe and step out of the way quickly. Bending down, Shizuo gripped the sides of the vending machine and tore it from its position. Creaking metal filled my ears as he rose it high above his head in fury, aiming it at the retreating target he hated so much. I was awestruck at the action.

How? How could somebody be that strong? It was crazy!

A second later, the blonde threw it, and it twirled in the air as it flew at the speed of light towards Izaya. He was going to be hit. There was no way he could outrun that! I gasped in anticipation, hand raised over my heart in worry. That boy was going to die!

But he wasn't hit. Simon's loud 'Ho!' sounded and he came crashing down from the sky, arms raised to stop the flying vending machine. Someone from the crowd of passerby's screamed, no doubt fearing the worst, that the male would be crushed under the object. but It worked. Although heavy, Simon had managed to hold it tight, brushing a few feet away on impact, and placed it down on the ground carefully, arms slightly shaking with the weight.

"Where did he come from?! The sky?" Mikado muttered again, mouth agape in disbelief.

Shizuo ran at full speed towards Simon, throwing a hard punch at him. "Get the hell out of my way!" The words were spoken through clenched teeth but were clearly audible.

Expecting his fate to be like the last naked fool, I shut my eyes, not wanting to see Simon go flying. When nothing was heard, however, I opened them to see Simon had stopped Shizuo's punch with an outstretch hand. He was straining to keep holding it, because Shizuo was putting pressure on it, making Simon falter.

With a final growl, the victor was determined. Shizuo grabbed hold of Simons shirt and carried the man high above his head, making the latter gasp, knowing he had lost control. Shizuo was a lot stronger than him. Without wasting any more time, the blonde threw the sushi chef hard against a store wall as if Simon were a rag doll. Thankfully, the chef landed on a crate of stuffed animals and only caused the thing to break prior to his landing. He didn't look hurt, but was definitely startled and shocked.

At that moment, Mikado grabbed hold of Anri's hand and sped away, leaving Masaomi and I standing on the sidewalk, staring after them with confused expressions. Shizuo had run away as well, long lean legs moving as he screamed out Izaya's name with fury.

Only discarded clothes, some passed out men, a discarded vending machine, and a lone trash bin were evidence of what had gone on. My hand rose to caress my nose. I was bleeding a bit, but not much. It hurt like hell though...

"Are you alright? Dude...what were you thinking, walking in there like that..." Masaomi scolded with a frown.

I looked down with a smile. "I know...Sorry...I don't even know, is my nose broken?"

Golden eyes gazed at the painful mess and he shook his head. "No, but it's turning kinda purple, you need to get some Ice on that soon, here's a tissue." He handed me a crumpled piece of tissue from his uniform pocket and I took it gratefully. Masaomi had saved my life two times today, he was the real mvp.

"Thanks." I muttered, stuffing the tissue deep into my nose to plug the bleeding. After today's events, I didn't care that I looked silly.

"Let's go help Simon." He urged, and I nodded in agreement, following the blonde towards the chef. He was standing up shakily, brushing off some glitter from the plushies that had clung to his clothing. The store owner was shouting incoherently, along with many others were were trying to help clear up the mess.

"Simon! You alright man?" Masaomi's voice rang out when we got close enough to the tall male.

He turned and grinned, ushering a thumbs up at us. "I'm fine, Shizuo too strong, nothing I can do."

Masaomi laughed, watching as the male helped himself up . "That was bold of you dude, you're lucky he didn't punch your lights out!"

"Yeah." Now standing, Simon was looming over us. "But it's not Shizuo's fault, Izaya brings out the worst in him, Shizuo still good costumer for Sushi."

I breathed out in relief. I could tell Simon was really patient and it took a lot to get him mad. I didn't falter when he bent down to my level to eye my nose.

"I saw you go down, you okay?"

I nodded. "Y-yeah, it's not as bad as it looks."

"Well that's good, stay out of Shizuo's way when Izaya is around." Simon patted my head gently and rose up to leave after exchanging farewells.

"So where do you think Mikado went?" I asked after we recollected ourselves.

Masaomi shrugged. "Beats me, they probably turned tail and took off someplace far from here, can't blame them though, it was getting pretty crazy." His eyes flickered to me in a devious gleam and he grinned, edging me with his elbow. "I knew they had the hots for each other!"

I grinned as well. "Yeah probably."

We ended the rest of the day going home.

...

"Owwww!"

The blood had stopped spilling and dried out but the bruise was horrible. Since there was no ice in our freezer, dad had opted for a bag of frozen peas instead, to press against the bruise.

"Please be careful next time...don't go downtown unless you have to." He scolded firmly, frowning as I winced with pain.

"I know..." I muttered. Averting my eyes.

"well, I can put a bandage over it for now, and give you some painkillers, would you like that?"

I nodded and watched as he handed me a box of bandaids and rose to fetch a glass of water. I opened the box quietly, grabbing a strip between my fingers and opening it to place the sticky side to the side of my nose. Now I was going to look like I had a freshly made nose job...but it couldn't be helped.

Dad returned with two pills and water. I greatfully snagged them and took the glass, popping each into my mouth and tilting my head up to chug the liquid.

"Thanks." I said nonchalantly, handing him the empty cup.

He nodded. "No problem."

"I'm going to bed, need to wake up early tomorrow, goodnight!" I stated quickly, hopping off the kitchen chair and heading towards the bottom of the stairs.

"Goodnight!"

I had to bend to slide my school shoes off. Dad had an array of them lined up against the wall so I fixed them there before climbing the stairs in black socks. I still had my school uniform but the inside of my home was cool, making me leave the blue dress overcoat on.

Once I opened the door to my room, I closed it behind me to sit on my desk again. Small fingers slid in between a closed black laptop to open it fully, revealing a black screen. Pushing the power button, I waited for it to start. I had left off in that website, not bothering to close it so as not to lose the link, but I was most likely out since I had been in it too long.

I was right. When the screen popped back up I was back in the dollars page, the password mark blinking, waiting to be typed. Clicking noises bounced around my dark room as my fingers punched in the keys. A second passed and I was in. My mind was already made up. I was going to join this website. I was probably making a big mistake, but what harm could it do? It wasn't like I was going to put in my real name or anything.

So I made an account under the name 'Null'. I didn't go into the chat right away, partway because I was too tired to engage in social talk at the moment. So I went into the introduction forum and posted 'Hi, I'm new here, this is cool!'

It was much too soon to expect replies so I left it as it was and logged off, shutting my laptop in the process. So much had went on today that I was in dire need of a long rest. So I got up and unbuttoned my dress shirt, sliding it to the floor slowly to remove my undershirt.

Clad in only a skirt, I rummaged through my closet to select a pijama top and some cotton Hatsune Miku shorts. Kicking my socks off, I proceeded to slide my skirt down to put the shorts on. I slid under my sheets without bothering to pick up my uniform from the carpet floor and fell into a deep sleep.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter: 4

'Dear Ahana,

Yikes! That's scary! Be careful in the big city! aww you're cheating on me with another person already! Haha! jk, I'm glad you met new people, I was actually a bit worried about you being alone, especially with that poor sense of direction. Whoa you are over there meeting a knight in shining armor who saves you like a blue prince, while I'm having no such luck! I'm so jelly. I'm doing fine over here, we miss you too! xoxoxo'

I logged off my email abruptly. I think Miki got the wrong idea about that blonde with hulk abilities. Oh well. Adjusting my sunglasses, I checked my phone and saw the time. Crap I was going to be late at this rate.

Shutting my laptop off, I grabbed my bag and left my room as quickly as possible. Dad had already left with food on the table but I couldn't risk being late. So I left without eating, making sure the door was locked behind me before I took off. The sun was warm on my back as I walked, wiggling my nose with the slight weight that rested upon it with my shades. It was bandaged up but it still hurt. That elbow was just as good as any punch.

I had put my long hair in a low ponytail, letting the short chopped locks loose, making my hair appear short. I had to wear the same uniform as yesterday. Having showered, early in the morning, I regretted leaving it on the floor overnight. Still, it wasn't that bad, because my floor wasn't really dirty.

"Ahana, you come to eat some sushi?"

I stopped walking among the crowd of passerby's and looked up to see Simon grinning down at me.

"No thanks Simon, I'm going to school." I replied, lifting my glasses up with a finger.

"Okay, you come later and eat some Sushi."

I nodded and waved at the man standing outside his restaurant, walking away as I did so. Jeez, if I listened to Simon he would make me go broke. Was that why Masaomi claimed he was broke? The mere idea had me grinning like a fool.

Flipping out my phone, I scrolled down it's contents to check the dollars website. It was mobile friendly, much to my delight. It looked like I had replies. two from someone under the name Dotachin, which sounded painfully familiar, and one from Kanra. Each welcomed me into their group.

Smiling, I looked up from my phone and stopped. Brown eyes scanned my surroundings carefully and I bit my lip. Crap nothing looked familiar. I was lost again. Sighing in frustration, I turned a corner and continued walking. I wasn't sure if this was the right way but what choice did I have? Perhaps I would run into someone I knew.

A honk made me nearly jump out of my skin and I turned to see a yellow car drive in front of me. Since there was a curve he was blocking my way. I stepped back cautiously as the window rolled down, revealing a man seemingly in his thirties. The cigarette he held burned and his eyes leered at me. His bald head was clean shaven and I instantly knew who it was. The gang member who got owned with a single switch blade.

"Hey girl, you that friend of the punk ass bitch who did me wrong?"

I instantly knew he recognized me too, and I gulped, shaking my head to deny any relations with furry coat.

He look a long drag of the cigarette and blew out the smoke. The cars engine ran as I waited. "You see em, you tell em I'm looking for his ass." He stated flatly.

I nodded, head bouncing up and down in a frightened fashion.

With another glare, he rolled the window up and drove away. the air that I had been holding in my lungs was released in relief. That was scary, for a moment I thought that he was probably going to kidnap me or something. All because I somehow got mixed up in that fight yesterday...

Sighing, I turned back and backtracked my steps. It didn't feel like I was going the right direction anyway. A thought hit me and I sped-walked across the street. I could always ask Simon where school was. I hated asking for directions, mainly because it made me feel dumb, but it was either that or be late.

It didn't take long to find his store. The white-clad sushi chef wasn't outside, demanding people eat his sushi as usual. He must have had some costumers to serve inside. I smoothed my skirt out to make it lower before entering. The smell of seafood and fried fish filled my nose instantly and I wished I had eaten before heading out. Simon was behind the counter, handing someone a cloth-wrapped box. I halted when I got close enough to recognize the costumer. It was furry coat.

He turned, pocketing his change, and locked eyes with mine. He smiled, face lighting up, letting me know that he recognized me well.

"Ahana, what a surprise! Shouldn't you be in school?" He chirped.

Before I could reply, he slid an arm over my shoulder and led me outside into the sunlight.

"So what brings you here? Gonna grab something to eat?" He asked, leading me away from the store. My eyebrow twitched. If he thought I did then why was he dragging me away from the store?

Reluctant, I pressed my feet to resist his pull and wiggled out of his grip. "Don't touch me like that, people are going to think we are friends." I hissed, frowning as he lowered his gaze.

"Hm? Don't want to be my friend? ouch." He muttered with a small smile, feigning hurt.

I shook my head. He was misunderstanding. "That guy from yesterday is looking for you."

That whipped the smirk off his face. "Shizu-chan?" He asked, puzzled.

"No not that guy, the other guy, who's head you shaved."

He blinked, jet black hair swaying as he snapped his fingers in the air in realization. "Oh that guy!"

I nodded. "He pulled up and told me to tell you he's looking for you..."

That made Izaya laugh hysterically, head thrown back, and mouth agape as he let out high pitched laughter. I watched in confusion as the boy before me cackled. Was he nuts? If a gang member was after me, laughing would be the last thing on my mind.

I waited once the laughter died out, and he took slow, even breathes to regain his composure. "I see." He muttered. "They just don't stop do they."

I crooked my head to the side. "Something's wrong with you." I murmured, staring at furry coat, "I don't know what it is, but you're wasting my time, I need to get to school." I huffed in annoyance, turning to walk away.

"You're going the wrong way."

I stopped walking, shoulders rising up in embarrassment.

Another laugh escaped Izaya's lips. I wanted to rip that mouth of his and tear it into pieces. "If you're lost you should just say so."

My lips curled downwards in a quiet snarl and I turned towards him. "Okay...which way is it." I sulked.

He grinned, and pointed to the other direction of the street. "I can escort you if you want."

My face softened and I looked at him wearily. "You're not going to murder me are you?"

His smile faltered, and he stared at me, serious for once. "No..." was his low reply, frowning in slight confusion. "Why would I do that?"

"Or kidnap me?"

He blinked. "Listen, do I look like a psychopath to you?"

I shook my head. "No...I was just making sure." He didn't look like a bad guy at all, it was his grin that gave a red flag that said he was untrustable. Besides, he was a twenty three year old man, whom I didn't really know.

"Okay...you're pretty weird, if you're that scared you can walk behind me if you want." He said with a scoff.

I denied the offer politely and opted for walking beside him instead. He was much shorter than Shizuo, so I didn't have to shift my neck to look up at the guy. Anyhow, I was relieved to finally get to school.

...

"Hold on, tilt your head forward a bit more, that's it."

I did as was told and shifted my neck, exposing the back of it fully. The sound of scissors snapping rang in my ears. Who knew Masaomi knew how to cut hair? After classes ended, I had confessed to my two new friends why my hair looked short and choppy. After that, Masaomi had taken some scissors and volunteered to fix the ends in the roof of the schools building. I watched brown locks fall off my shoulders as he snipped away. I had only wanted the choppy parts on the top done, but wanted the layer below long at my waist. So far, considering Mikado's and Kyohei's group's expressions, Masaomi was doing a good job.

"Whoa, it looks so soft and smooth, just like an anime character's hair!" Erika squealed. She sat on the ground along with Walker.

"Yeah! you can totally cosplay as an anime character, whether its short hair or long hair, so cool!" Walker breathed enthusiastically.

"Hmm...I agree its not bad." Kyohei's voice was the calmest of the two.

"Didn't I say I was professional?" Masaomi claimed with pride, snipping the last strand before letting the rest of my hair fall to my ears. "You can stand up now sweetheart, you look like a million bucks! All thanks to yours truly."

I complied and stood up, brushing any stray hairs that clung to my shoulders away. Feeling my ends and bangs with one hand, I nodded in contempt. It was no longer messy and choppy, but smooth and evened out in a spiky fashion similar to Masaomi's.

"I like it, thanks!" I exclaimed in gratitude.

"No problem sweety, the look suits you!" The blond replied with a grin.

Mikado nodded in approval.

"So what happened to your nose Ahana? looks like someone landed one real good." Kyohei changed the subject with a nonchalant expression.

I touched the tip of it gently and winced. Even after yesterday, it still hurt. "Shizuo's elbow landed one." I muttered.

Kyohei's eyes widened, which almost disappeared under his beanie. "No way that guy hit you?"

"It wasn't on purpose, he was gonna punch some guy square in the face and Ahana was behind him." Masaomi explained deliberately.

Kyohei's eyes softened. "Looks like you have some bad luck around that guy."

"It's fate! This is the opening scene of two people falling passionatly in love in a manga! Then later on, they make out while a bunch of sakura petals are flying in the scenery, and then they make passionate love while destroying the whole city in a rage full of love and hormones!" Erika stated excitedly.

I coughed uncontrollably, choking on my own saliva as I gripped my throat, making Masaomi burst out laughing. Mikado blinked, looking as lost as ever, and Kyohei's eyebrow twitched.

"Hey! Keep those thoughts to yourself!." He breathed out, voice graced with annoyance.

"Yeah...uh, I think I need to get something to eat, I haven't eaten all day." I muttered, smoothing out my hair shakily.

"I'll come with! You guys wonna go somewhere else rather than the sushi restaurant?" Masaomi suggested.

"We can go to my fathers restaurant, he works in Misubushi." I chimed in.

"Your dad works in a restaurant?" Mikado asked in surprise.

I nodded. "It's an italian restaurant, so expect lots of gluten."

"Awesome, I'm in! Wonna come with Kyohei?" Masaomi beamed at us, while eyeing the male in anticipation.

"Nah, I'll pass, there are some errands we gotta run, another time." The former replied evenly. The four waved at us and we departed the roof silently.

...

This time, I was the one to treat the two boys as we settled in. Luckily Masaomi knew where the place was located, so we didn't get lost on the way here. The blonde was like our personal GPS.

"This place is kinda fancy isn't it." Mikado muttered, while folding his cloth strip neatly on his lap.

"Yeah, this is different from a convenience restaurant." Masaomi agreed. "But its actually kinda cool."

I felt hands grip my shoulders tightly and I looked up to see my dad looking down at me with a grin. "Hey, you brought friends here?" He eyed Masaomi and Mikado with curiosity.

"Yeah, guys this is my dad, Ichigo Kazane, dad this is Mikado and Masaomi." I introduced casually. After a series of handshakes, he passed out the menu's for us to look over.

"Do you guys have spaghetti and meatballs?" Masaomi asked with a blink.

"Sure do, what would you like to drink?"

"Some soda, uuh, make that a coke."

"Gotcha." Dad stated while writing the order down in a notepad. In the end we all ordered the same thing and we waited patiently for the food to be made.

"Your dad looks kinda scary." Mikado uttered lowly, hand raised to cup around his mouth.

"Yeah he has resting bitch face." Masaomi giggled. "No offence man, it looks manly as hell."

I frowned. "I never noticed. He's actually really gentle."

"Yeah people with resting bitch face usually are, by the way, you look totally hot in that haircut!" Masaomi complimented.

In all modesty, the comment made me blush, even though it was a usual thing for the blonde to say. "Thanks."

"We should totally go in a double date someday you know." The blonde pointed out, making Mikado nearly spit out the cracker he was nibbling on.

"A double date between the three of us? But its two guys and one girl...that's too weird." Mikado mumbled in an appalled voice.

Masaomi squinted. "Huh? What are you talking about I mean you and Anri, I'll take Ahana."

Now I was the one nearly spitting my cracker out. But not because I was appalled. I was laughing at Mikado's face, which was slowly turning a deep red.

"I-I do not like Anri! I don't even know her!" He stammered in complete embarrassment.

"Don't need to know someone to like them, what romantic adventure did you guys run off to yesterday mmm?" The blonde probed playfully.

"It was not a romantic adventure! She was scared and I just wanted to help her get away from the fighting! Nothing happened we parted ways after that I swear!"

Masaomi and I couldn't help but laugh at that. Poor Mikado was stumbling over his words.

"Here you guys go, enjoy the meal, Ahana come home before dark okay?" We each looked up so see my dad pushing a tray of our food over to us along with out drinks.

"I will dad no worries." I assured, mouth watering at the delicious scent of food.

"Well without further adeu, bon appetite!"

...

"Aaargh I'm full, the sun is setting, guess we should call it a day."

Masaomi gave a loud yawn and scratched the back of his head while lazily rolling his eyes towards Mikado.

"What do you say dude?"

Mikado and I nodded. "Yeah."

"Well, I'm off then, I live close around so I'll see you guys later!" The blonde halted to turn the other way with a quick wave.

"See ya!" Mikado and I chimed together.

After a while of watching the blonde's body disappear in the herd of people walking about, we continued walking, taking a shortcut through an alley that led to some sort of plaza. There was a water fountain in the middle of the wide open space, with children running about while parents settled on sitting at the benches. We decended the stairs quietly, feet tapping against the slightly cracked floor.

"You kids want to see this beauty?"

I stopped and turned to the sound of an old mans voice. He was sitting at the bottom of the stairs, with many painting tools huddles in an old bucket and some canvas paintings resting against the far wall. His face was old and worn with age but his eyes were young and vibrant. Mysterious with a sense of foreboding.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Mikado muttered, looking around to make sure we were who he was talking to.

"A painting, of a beautiful dullahan, here take a look." He moved to retrieve a canvas covered in a layer of white sheet, and held it up for us to see after removing the fabric. It was a woman, I could tell by the figure, who sported some sort of medieval dress in a wooded area. She was headless, with only smoke coming out of the gaping whole in the neck. She rode on a headless horse, holding on to it with one hand while the other held a severed head with poor facial features.

"Wow that is beautiful, you are a really good artist." Mikado murmured.

"Yeah, but what's a dullahan?" I wondered out loud.

"Ah..." The old man set the painting down to rest against his legs. "A dullahan is a headless being who wonders the earth in search of its head, I saw her many years ago, with my own two eyes! She rode a carriage, her dress flew in the wind with grace as she passed by, I fell in love with this being after that, but no matter how many times I paint that experience, it will never replace the feeling of watching her in real life."

Mikado and I exchanged glances. Knowing eyes communicating silently what we both knew. This story was exactly like the legend of the headless rider in Ikebukuro. But this guy also sounded like a nutcase. Nevertheless we smiled and complimented his artwork some more.

"Thank you, I like to tell the world of my experience, I want to be able to see this dullahan with her head someday, to complete the experience of beauty."

"I'm sure that you will, good luck." Mikado wished as we departed the plaza

"What an imagination, that old man was eccentric." Mikado murmured once we were away from the plaza for good. We waiting for a light to cross the street.

"Yeah, but it's Ikebukuro, everyone is eccentric, well mostly everyone, but you gotta admit that he's really good at art." I pointed out, shifting my shades slightly as the light turned. We crossed the street casually.

"Yeah he sure is, hey Ahana...do you believe in the headless rider?"

I glanced at Mikado, eyebrows raised in question. Was he serious?

"Hmm...well I don't know, it's kind of far fetched for someone to live without their head don't you think?"

"I guess it is, but what if its not just a headless human, what if it's a dullahan, a being without a head...can such a thing exist."

"Sometime's I wonder about it too, but I don't want to sound like that old man back there..."

We laughed. "Yeah true, it is far fetched, my home is in this street, um, do you want to come inside?" Mikado offered as we walked towards a row of houses. He was pointing to the gray one.

I shook my head and declined politely. "No thanks, I should be heading home."

"Alright, goodnight, please be careful." He bid me farewell and I nodded.

"Of course, good night!"

I watched as the raven haired boy slid into his house before looking around in confusion. Was my home located left or right? I was going to just backtrack across the street and head the other way since that street looked a bit more familiar than Mikado's place.

Autumn leaves slid across my feet as I walked nonchalantly, lifting my hair in the cold air. The sun was going to go down soon, so I needed to be home fast. I really did not want to run into trouble again.

I crossed the street that Mikado and I walked through recently and made a turn at the curb of the sidewalk. The alley's looked like a huge shortcut under the orange sky, but Masaomi had warned me against them. Still...they were vacant and looked harmless enough. How bad could it be? Plus I was cold. The sun's rays may have still been up but the wind was as cool as ice.

Without further hesitation, I made up my mind to just cross the alley across the street. My pale-like skin seemed to glow in the darkness of they alley's nooks and crannies. The smell of trash hit my nose and I wrinkled it in discomfort as my shoes sent echoes with every step I took. I was right about it being deserted. No one was around at all, save for some lone cats.

I only let out my breath evenly when I made it across. It really was a shortcut. I could see Raira academy not too much a distance away. Smiling in relief and proud that I hadn't gotten myself lost this time, I made my way towards the school. My home was about eight blocks across it, near Simon's shop. It was kind of a long walk but at least I had some idea of where I was going.

The gates of the school came into view and I walked at a faster pace, skirt swishing with each movement I made. I was getting closer to the gate entrance. Passing it, I nearly tripped when I felt a hard yank on my backpack, causing me to stumble backwards.

"Hey, well would you look at this, the same girl from before! What a coincidence, and that annoying bastard isn't here to save you this time."

I stared at the man who was holding on to my backpack in surprise and distress. It was the blonde with the putrid breath and the nappy yellow hair. His friends were behind the gate, sitting down with a couple of beers strewn about.

"Argh! Let go of me!" I shouted, pulling against his grip. It didn't help.

"Heh, because of you I looked like a fool that night!" He growled, pulling me forward so roughly I lost my balance and fell on my knees. I fought the urge to whimper and scrambled to my feet, ignoring the stinging pain of my hands and knees as I ran at full speed.

I could heard the sound of his footsteps behind me, knowing full well he was chasing, yet I didn't dare look back for fear I would run into someone. Turning into al alley, I huffed, running out into the open air towards a narrow street. A wired fence stretched on seemingly without end, and I followed along it, turning at the corner so sharply, that I was unable to halt when a black body came into view.

I slammed into it, feeling hands wrap around me firmly as the body stumbled back with the impact of my weight. When I looked up, I saw my own, wide eyed reflection on the plastic vision pane of a yellow cat-like helmet. Black leather gloves steadied me and the helmet tilted. I could feel eyes watching me from behind that pane,and I took in a deep breath. I had run into the black rider.

"There you are! Runnin away like a scared little mouse, you're all mine now!"

I flinched and ran behind the rider, putting distance between me and the yellow haired asshole.

Slitted eyes leered down at kitty helmet and he shoved the black-clad rider away roughly, making the motorcyclist fall flat on its butt.

"Outta my way!"

I inched back in fear, not knowing what else to do, and stopped when I felt a body press against my back. Startled, I inched back quickly and looked up to see...Shizuo.

He held a broken lollipop in his hand, and his wide, angry eyes could be seen behind tinted blue shades. His cheek moved. He stepped forward and yanked the asshole up by his collar, shoving his face so close to his in a raging stare that made me wonder how the taller blonde could tolerate the stench of the cowering mans breath.

A whimper escaped the mans mouth and he kicked the air furiously, since his feet were no longer touching the ground. "Shizuo! I-I didn't know you were here honest! I wouldn't try anything on you! Sorry! I'm sorry! So let me go please ahhh!"

"Aaaaaahhhhrrrg!" Shizuo's loud roar drowned out the mans pleading and he roughly shook in by the shirt in the air like a rag doll, making the former scream as the taller blonde launched him like a football across the street.

I winced at the sound of the mans body hitting a car, and watched as he shakily stood up and limped away in fear, shouting incoherent phrases.

"Stupid punk, now I'm so pissed off! Why the hell is he always bothering me."

I stared, afraid of being next as Shizuo ranted, smacking the fence with clenched teeth. It didn't look like he was going to stop his ranting soon so I shifted my gaze over to the woman sitting on the floor against the fence. I could now tell it was a woman from her lithe frame and chest. I extended my hand to her and she took it gently to pull herself up. Without saying anything, she pulled out what looked like a phone and typed into it before showing my the screen.

'are you alright?'

I stared at the written words in confusion, then stared up at the helmet. Was she...mute?

I nodded solemnly. "Y-yeah...sorry, I didn't mean to bump into you." I apologized while bowing.

I looked up at the sound of more clicks and she showed me the screen again.

'Don't worry, I'm fine, what is your name?'

I realized she must be mute if she was communicating through an electronic device.

"Ahana...What's yours?"

More typing.

'Celty, what was that jerk chasing you for?'

I looked down while biting my lip. "I don't know, I kicked him cause he was harassing me the other day." it wasn't the most detailed explanation, but it was too embarrassing to tell a stranger I was being sexually attacked.

More typing.

'i see, sorry to hear that.'

Without saying anything more, Celty moved towards the ranting blonde and showed him her screen. He stared at it before sighing in frustration, running a hand through messy blonde locks.

"Yeah yeah, I know, stupid artist had to move away." He mumbled.

I couldn't believe it. I had formally introduced myself to the headless rider...Celty. It was an exotic name, befitting her mysterious rumored background perfectly. This all seemed so surreal. Still...I couldn't forget about the blonde. He had helped me yet again, even if it was unintentional.

Stepping forward cautiously, I rose my voice to get his attention.

"Uh, umm, Mr. Heiwajima?" Brown eyes looked down at me, as if he had just now noticed I was there. "Thank you for saving me, this is the second time, S-so...thanks." I mumbled. My cheeks felt hot. Oh no...was I blushing?

After a long moment of silence, the blonde shifted his shades slightly and gave out a grunt. "Whatever."

I didn't know why...but I somehow felt rejected. Mt face burned a hot chili red and I wanted to just run away at the speed of light in utter embarrassment.

"I'm tired of looking for that artist, I'm gonna take a break and smoke a cigarette." The blonde murmured. Forgetting my embarrassed demeanor, I looked up in curiosity.

"You are looking for an artist? What kind of artist?" I asked. We were standing by some fenced district with a large gap in the middle of two buildings with nothing but grass and weeds. Were they staring at it before I came across the two?

That caught Shizuo's attention. He looked down at me once again, this time scanning me from head to toe silently before speaking. "Why you know anything about it?"

I shrugged. "I came across an artist not too long ago who was showing people a painting of a headless woman."

I gasped loudly as Celty grabbed hold of my shoulders, bending to my height and nearly shaking me to death. Typing furiously, she showed me the screen.

'Yes! We are looking for him! Do you know where he is?!'

I blinked and nodded. "Yeah! He's by a plaza, if you want I can take you to him?"

Celty typed again before showing me the screen.

'If it's not too much trouble.'

"No not at all! It's not like I'm busy or anything." I exclaimed, brushing my bangs away from my face and taking off my shades. The sun was setting so I had no use for them anymore.

"Great, finally." Shizuo mumbled.

"Ah...okay it's this way." I turned to walk casually back to the way I had come from, retracing my steps and trying my hardest to memorize where I came through. Celty took to pushing her motorbike along the street behind me while Shizuo walked beside her in an even pace.

Why did they want to talk to this artist anyway? It was suspicious that the headless rider was looking for such a man. But...getting to conversate with her even for a moment made her seem more normal than anything. Plus, it looked like she was friends with Shizuo...they made an odd pair.

"You know, now I remember, that place used to be an old apartment a few years ago, it was home to some nut who rambled on an on about seeing an angel or something like that." Shizuo spoke out after a while. His shadow was looming over me and I looked back curiously. He was talking about the artist.

Celty said nothing.

"It was taken down because they were going to replace the building with some store."

More silence. I wondered how those two got along before, now I knew. Celty didn't talk, so Shizuo had nothing to get pissed off about.

...

We ended up finding him at the exact same spot I had seen him earlier. Celty was typing to him for over thirty minutes now, While Shizuo and I sat on the stairs quietly. The blonde didn't talk at all. He merely smoked in silence, blowing out the air in long breaths while fiddling with his shirt cuffs. I didn't mind the smoke much, but I worried it was turning my lungs black. Didn't he care about his health. Looking up from my phone, I studied his arms. Shizuo had long lean arms, he was skinny. Where his strength came from was totally beyond me. His shirt cuffs were also loosely unbuttoned, making them baggy while they hands from his wrists.

"What happened to your nose?"

The question caught me by surprise because I wasn't expecting him to acknowledge me so soon. Celty taking long must be taking a toll on him. I could tell by the way he was tapping his foot.

"Uhh...you kind of hit me." I stated rather bluntly, looking up with a small smile to give the impression it wasn't so bad.

He looked down at me for the first time and rose an eyebrow, taking another long drag before snuffing it out on the floor.

"I don't remember hitting you." He muttered under his breath. His eyes kept sweeping towards Celty, who was asking the man all sorts of questions from the sound of his replies. I said nothing more. I figured this is as close a conversation I would get with the blonde.

Sighing, Shizuo stood up and I followed behind to stand beside Celty. The old man was babbling about the painting again.

"She was as beautiful as the night itself!" He exclaimed enthusiastically.

Celty typed in her device again before thrusting it into the mans face. He frowned at the screen and shrugged.

"I have no Idea where the woman's head is, hell I don't even know where SHE is! but one day I hope I can see her with her head intact, that way I can paint her in all her full glory!"

She typed again.

"Hey no problem! but why are you so interested in the dullahan? Well...good-day anyway missy!"

Celty stood at the plaza once more, looking far off into the distance. Although I couldn't see her face, it was evident that she was daydreaming. The sun's rays reflected off her helmet as she thought silently to herself.

"Hey, Celty, you gonna stand there for the rest of the day?" Shizuo broke her trance.

Without further hesitation, the biker strolled over to me and typed into her device again before thrusting it into my face.

'Thanks for the trouble for bringing us here, need a ride home?'

My eyes slid from her to the motorbike waiting by the sidewalk. It would be my first time on one of those things, but It would mean getting home faster. So I took the offer.

"Y-yeah, thank you."

'You're welcome'

I followed silently after her as she bent to retrieve a black helmet to give to me. I took it carefully and adjusted it over my head. It was kinda loose but not so much to make it uncomfortable for me.

Celty patted the seat behind her and I sat, holding her narrow waist for support. This was all so surreal, I was getting a ride from the black rider.

'Where do you live?'

I hadn't realized the screen was aiming at me since I was so engrossed in my thoughts.

"Oh, It's on 1st near russian sushi shop." I shouted over the loud sound of the motorbike's engine. She nodded in understanding, pulling her device back.

"So you're gonna leave now, take care Celty."

We both turned to look up at Shizuo. His tall frame cast a shadow over us against the orange sun as he stood on the sidewalk with hands in his pockets, eyes looking down to study us.

Celty nodded, I waved. It was starting to get windy.

"Goodbye." I muttered meekly, earning a grunt from the blonde male. It was the closest thing to a farewell I would get from the strong man. We rode off into the setting luminous sunlight, and I looked back at the receding form of the man in the bartender suit. He...didn't seem like the aggressive dangerous person to stay away from like Masaomi made him out to be. Kyohei was right. Deep down, maybe he just wanted to be left alone. But didn't that get lonely? I was suddenly feeling a bit sad and curious for Shizuo Heiwajima. I promised silently that I would be nicer to him if we ran into each other again as we rode on.

...

Sorry if you got confused about the oc! I did state it in the summary ^^' Review please!


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

It was a rather boring day at school, thus we hung out in the roof top with Kyohei's group to pass the afternoon. Even so, at least one interesting thing came out of today. My story of meeting the black rider, which had, to the utter surprise of Masaomi and everyone else, been very hard to process. I didn't blame them. I hardly believed it myself although I was the one who encountered her.

"So like, did you get to see her face and stuff?" The blonde asked while taking a deep bite of his sandwich. Mikado eyed me as he waited for my response.

I shook my head. "She didn't take her helmet off, and it's not like I could ask her because that would seem rude right?"

"Not really, Celty is a mute so she understands curiosity more than anything." Kyohei murmured, eyes dazed as he stared up at the sky. Erika and Walker were both reading manga again, as usual, and I found it odd that they weren't as fazed as I expected them to be about my encounter.

"Huh?! You know that black rider?" Masaomi and Mikado both shouted.

Kyohei shrugged. "Not personally, but I know Shinra, the dude that lives with her, unlicsenced doctor who's weird, they're pretty close from the looks of it since they go out together and stuff, when I asked him about the black rider he said her name was Celty and suffered from mutism and that she's his girlfriend or something of the sort."

"No way! So the legend's aren't true." Masaomi sighed. "You know, I kind of wish I haden't asked, the black rider rumor made this city look cool, now that I know its just a normal woman I'm crushed!" He whined in a dramatic tone, throwing his head back and sending smoothe locks over his head to reveal his forhead.

"Yeah, Shinra is kinda a nutcase so he probably started that rumor huh Kyohei?" Erika chirped, eyes glued to the pages in her book.

"Probably, Iv'e never actually talked to the black rider, just seen her around Shinra a lot." Kyohei stated rather simply.

"I see, what was she like?" Mikado asked me as he sat up from laying on the ground next to Masaomi and the other long haired man who was engrossed in his phone.

I looked down at him from my sitting position on the bench next to Kyohei. "Um, well...she was nice, it's Shizuo that's kind of scary."

Masaomi laughed at that. "Damn right he's scary, didn't know those two were friends though."

"They were friendly enough with each other." I pointed out, fixing my shades with small fingers.

"Dammit! Uggh no I forgot my charger and my phone died!" The other boy who was laying next to Mikado had gotten up to throw a fit, clutching his phone in frustration.

"Calm down Saburo, you're always on that thing, maybe this is a sign you should lay off it and socialize for once." Kyohei scolded, making the other throw a leer at him.

"Like hell it is...and I do socialize for your information." The boy, Saburo, grunted.

Masaomi took the last bite of his sandwich and crumpled up the foil it was wrapped in, forming a perfectly round ball. "Want me to take your trash?" He offered with an outstretched hand as he sat up.

"Oh, thanks." I said, and handed him my empty cheeto bag and an empty container of apple sauce. The stuff was my favorite treat, much to Masaomi's displeasure. To him, it was too mushy and bitter, but to me, it was bitter-sweet with a cool taste.

He stood up to throw the contents in a nearby trash bin and pulled out his phone to scan through it's contents. "Well, its about to be five, so I should head home."

"Me too." I nodded, grabbing my backpack to fling it over my back.

"Make that three." Mikado exclaimed, getting up to dust himself off.

"Alright, see you guys tomorrow, its gonna be a friday so we might not be up here, we're going to ride around town for kicks, you're welcome to join us if you want." Kyohei offered, adjusting his black beanie as he looked at the three of us with beady eyes.

"We'll see, later dudes!" Masaomi waved in a dismissive gesture and we proceeded to descend the stairs that we took to get up in the roof.

I brushed brown locks away from my face as I followed the pair back into the schools campus grounds. The breeze was a lot warmer down here than up in the roof, so I instantly relaxed.

"You guys sure are rather interesting, well, Ahana is anyway, always finding trouble everywhere you go." Masaomi said with a grin as we walked around the school's building to find the exit gates.

"Huh? What's that supposed to mean?" Mikado muttered with a hurt expression.

Masaomi laughed. "Nothing man! I mean, you're so ordinary, but only because you don't go out much."

"I guess..." Mikado sighed.

"It's because I have a poor sense of direction." I explained with a blank face.

Both of my companions looked back at me with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah what's up with that? You're always lost despite already being at school." Masaomi pointed out with a curious stare.

"I don't know, I just do...sometimes I feel like I'm walking just to walk, but I'm not sure where."

Mikado nodded. "I had a friend who was just like that."

Masaomi patted me on the back. "Don't worry darling, if you get overly lost for a long time just give me a call baby, and I'll come sweep you off your feet." He sighed dramatically as if in love.

That earned a small blush from me and a deadpan stare from Mikado.

"You kid too much you know..." Mikado stated.

Masaomi simply shrugged. "Don't hate on my charm man."

Mikado was about to reply but stopped short when Anri came into view. We knew it was her because her familiar stance of looking down with slumped shoulders showed, despite having her back to us. Her short raven black hair was visible as well. Our teacher was hoovering above her, resting a hand on her shoulder and sliding it down slowly while he whispered something to her with a strange grin.

In a flash, Masaomi stepped forward, nearly bumping against Mikado's shoulder in the process.

"Hey! Anri, We've been looking for you!" The blonde yelled, making them both turn towards us. Mr. Nasujima instantly retracted his hand and took a few steps back from Anri.

"Ah, Masaomi, nice to see you out of class, I was just telling Anri she can come talk to me about Mika is she wants, I know how sad she is that-"

"Yeah whatever, she doesn't need to because she has us, so you can go grade papers now." Masaomi stated flatly, taking the girls hand in his to drag her towards us as we stared at the scene.

Nasujima blinked in confusion. "Huh? Masaomi is there a problem?" His smile faltered a little and his fingers curled into soft fists.

The blonde looked at him with a sour face. "Yeah, you spend way too much time around underage girls don't you think, you should stop, it makes students start rumors, dont wonna lose your job do you?"

Nasujima's face went red and he was left in a stupor state, at a loss for words. Without saying anything more, he turned sharply, tie dangling from his collar, and stalked out of our sight into the school building.

"What a creep." Masaomi murmured, running a hand through soft golden hair.

"Yeah...I guess you were right." Mikado agreed. I stared at the extroverted blonde in wonder. That was pretty bold of him to stand up for Anri like that. It made me admire him.

"Um...You were looking for me?" Anri interrupted, eyes downcast shyly as she adjusted her glasses.

"Not really, we just happened to walk by." Masaomi explained with a shrug. "By the way, you're not still upset about Mika are you?"

Anri nodded slowly, lips curled down in a slight frown. "I know...that Mika was only using me to look good...what those girls in the alley two days ago said was true..."

We weren't prepared for this type of a confession, so the three of us squirmed uncomfortably.

"So...why did you allow her to be your friend if she was using you." Mikado asked.

"Because, I was using her to be popular, the two of us were never really the same, then she fell in love...with Seiji, but he rejected her because of her stalking...so I'm convinced she must have taken a vacation to cope with her grief." Anri said in a low tone.

"Is that right...all that just for a rejection? Sounds pretty lame, you should forget about Mika and just live your own life, you don't need to be popular." Masaomi advised with outstretched hands clasped behind his head.

Anri looked up at him in silence behind thin rimmed glasses.

"Well! I gotta bounce, I'll see you guys later! Anri, you too, don't be a stranger now okay?" The blonde said cheerfully.

The girl nodded slowly, and we watched as the blonde exited the gates with a faraway look in his eye.

"Are you going home too Anri?" I asked politely.

She nodded.

"You can walk with us if you want." Mikado offered.

"Thank you." The girl whispered. I almost cringed from how shy she was. She beat Mikado and I in that personality trait, and her voice was very low as well. Nevertheless, we allowed her to walk with us as we made our way home.

...

"So how's your nose?"

"A lot better!"

"Good, now you can actually smell those cookies."

I nearly choked on my cereal as I stared at the oven from my perch on the chair next to the table. I was baking sugar cookies this late at night to give to Kyohei's group and my friends the next day. And I had recently picked out small bags with red ribbon to put them in from a convenient store before Anri and Mikado dropped me off at my house.

"Do you really like it here?" Dad asked out of the blue.

I tore my wide brown eyes away from the oven and glanced at him. He was staring through the kitchen window out into the city. I nodded.

"Yes, a lot more than Cali actually." I murmured between mouthfuls of frosted flakes.

"Well, your mother called, she just wanted to make sure."

I said nothing.

"She misses you."

The grip on my spoon tightened. "I don't need to hear that dad."

"I know." He replied with a grin.

The truth was, mom and I didn't get along well since my parents separation. I was young then, so I couldn't understand the concept of a divorce. I fought and screamed and hated her every being, blaming her for what happened in a psychological rage I couldn't control or understand. It was a few years back that I had come to mature and accept the divorce as a normal thing. I was growing into adulthood now, I didn't need them together for emotional relief, but the anger was still there, buried deep inside my mind. Repressed but existant. The relationship between mother and I was never the same.

At the sound of the oven's alarm, I rose and opened it with a piece of cloth. The smell wafted over my nose and my mouth nearly watered. I wanted to eat all of them. Taking them out carefully with the cloth, I set the tray on the table to allow them to cool off.

"Oh, those look tasty." My dad muttered, sniffing the air in pleasure.

"You can have some if you want." I offered with a smile. I was still wearing my schools uniform so I wanted to go change whilst the cookies cooled off.

"Don't mind if I do." He stated with a grin, grabbing one carefully to blow on it.

"I'll be back, I'm going to change my clothes." I called out as I rushed upstairs.

"Alright."

I looked around my closet in search of something comfortable. Settling on short blue cotton shorts and a blue tank top, I slid off my uniform carefully to fold it on my drawer.

I kept my socks on, taking off only my shoes to line up against my bed. Peering out of my window, the nightlife feel came to life once again as the streets of Ikebukuro were illuminated with the city lights. Glancing at my laptop casually, I decided to check my forum. It was still pretty early in the night after all.

So I turned on my device and sat down on my desk, waiting for the screen to go from black to blue. Once I typed in my password, I logged in to the dollars website and went straight away to my forum on the introductions page. I had more formal welcomes, this time, from different people. One in particular stood out.

'We should meet.' From a girl named Kanra. I didn't reply to that. I didn't know how to feel about meeting a stranger from this site in person, was it even safe? Probably not, especially since I knew how crazy this city was. So I moved on to the chat room and was instantly thrown into a group chat. The kanji nearly made me groan but I could manage if I wasn't too lazy to translate.

From what I could see, three people were talking, Bakyura, Taro Tanaka, and...Kanra. I reccognized the last one as being the girl who invited me for a meetup. So I was a bit reluctant to join in, but really...what harm could it be? So I typed in the words that popped into my head, slim fingers scattering across the keyboard.

'Hi, I'm new here, nice to meet you.'

I waited for someone to say something, and a 'ding' sounded as the girl of the group replied.

'Kanra: Hello, you're that new girl in town right? We should really meet up!'

I bit my lip, I somehow knew she was going to bring that up.

'Maybe.' I typed.

'Bakyura: Whats up!'

'Kanra: What do you mean Maybe? We can be best friends!'

'I'll have to know you a bit better.' I typed again.

'Kanra: Aww, you're no fun!'

'Taro Tanaka: I'm new here too, so far I'm liking it.'

'Kanra: Anyway, you guys ever heard about the slasher?'

'The slasher?'

'Bakyura: That's a myth.'

'Kanra: No no, it's true, so many people have been attacked recently by it, they say its some sort of serial killer thats going around the city cutting people.'

'Taro Tanaka: That's scary! And I'm out here alone too...'

'Bakyura: Hahahaha! You better find a safe place dude! I also heard there are more and more people wearing yellow scarves, they're multiplying!'

'Taro Tanaka: I think someone's following me!'

'Where are you?' I typed, not really bemused. He was probably paranoid by what Kanra was saying.

'Taro Tanaka: I don't know, somewhere near an alley.'

'Bakyura: I can go find you if you want.'

'Taro Tanaka: Really? Thanks! I'm by a train station and a clothing store for fitness.'

'Bakyura: Alright, don't move from there, omw.'

Bakyura logged off.

'That was nice of him.' I commented.

'Kanra: Totally! Well, I gotta bounce! See you around sometime new girl.'

Kanra logged off.

Taro Tanaka logged off.

That left me with no other choice but to log off myself. Getting up, I made my way out the door after slipping into a pair of fluffy slippers.

"I'm going to bed now, don't stay up too late, don't want to be groggy in the morning okay?" Dad exclaimed as I passed him by the stairs.

"I won't!" I called out, rushing to the kitchen with the sound of my slippers squeaking against the floor. The cookies were cool now, so I sat down by the table and took my time in packaging them in three's in each colored baggy. They were big so the number was sufficiant.

In the end, there were eight bags, enough for all of us in the roof top. It was time to just tie the red ribbon around the ends of the bags. I thought of the chat room while I did so, wondering who those people could be. Was Taro alright? Or was he just being paranoid? Most likely it was the latter, but still it was eerie. Were people really being attacked by this slasher guy? As if the city wasn't dangerous enough already...Whatever the case was, I hoped that guy in the chat room was safe.

Once I finished tieing all the bags, I set them each in a small handbag to carry for school tomorrow. Glancing at it as I rose from my seat, I frowned. One of them wasn't tied. Realization hit me that I didn't buy enough of the party stuff. Groaning, I grabbed the bag that was loose and moved to the livingroom to snag my sweater and wallet. I was just going to have to go back to get some more.

"Dad! I'll be back I'm going to the store!" I shouted, standing before the doorway with a hand resting on the cold steel knob. No reply, he was probably out cold. Shrugging, I decided to leave anyway. I wasn't going to take too long to cause him alarm, it would be quick. So I slipped out and closed the door slowly behind me.

The cold air chilled my bare legs, and I silently wished I would have worn pants instead of dingy cotton shorts. But going to my room to change now would be risky. I might wake up my dad. So I simply wrapped my arms around myself while holding the bag of sweets and walked down the gate path. The streets were not as busy as usual, with only a few people walking about, and most inside the stores and restaurants.

The store that was my destination was only a few feet away, and I sped-walked to it the rest of the way, feeling the cold night wind caress my face. The store was warmer, and I was instantly relieved for it, but it was also rather quiet, which made the squeaking of my stupid slippers sound like explosions. Well, it was more annoying than embarrassing. All the more reason to hurry with my task too.

Ventering to the back of the store, I selected the same small roll of colored ribbon that I had used and rushed to the cashier. A tall brunnete girl with a pouty face muttered the price, and I handed my card over in silence, staring at the motions she did while packaging the item after returning the card.

"Oh, you don't need to do that, I can hold it." I assured.

She nodded, blowing a bubble with bright pink chewing gum and handing me the small roll. I took it and thanked her before heading back out. The blast of cold air hit me as soon as I exited the stores doors and I made my way uphill with a shiver. Dammit, why didn't I just go back for some pants?

"Because you're a baka." I muttered to myself over shattering teeth. The cold was ruthless, and my nose, while not in pain anymore, was turning into ice. Looking down at the roll of ribbon, I ripped some out with my teeth and concentrated on tieing that around the bag's opening top to tone out the cold as I walked back home. With cold, slim fingers, The deed was done and I managed to make a perfect knott. Smiling, I blew out some air, the cold atmosphere making fog drift from the crevice of my mouth.

"All this for one ribbon." I muttered under my breath, feeling the smooth surface of it between my cold fingers.

I stopped, sure that I must be going the wrong direction, because none of my surroundings looked the least bit familiar. Biting my lip nervously, I spun around slowly, hating that my fluffy slippers were making that annoying noise as I did so.

"Lost again..." I sighed under my breath, tempted to throw the damn treats against the floor and stomp on them in anger, but that would make me look like Izaya... plus anyone watching me would think I lost my mind.

So I took to sulking instead, and made a turn at a corner to walk past an alley, stopping at the sound of footsteps approaching. My heart froze, and I stared into the alley cautiously, wondering who it was. Someone was running towards me, but it was much too dark to see. It wasn't until a flash of black came rushing forward that I stumbled back with a yelp, surprised out of my mind.

Recollecting myself, I looked around wildly, eyes darting in every nook and cranny of my surroundings. Nothing. There was nothing at all. Whatever the thing was, if it was even real, was gone now. That didn't stop my heart from nearly flying out of my chest, as it was beating at a rapid pace now.

More footsteps were heard, and I tensed. This time, it wasn't coming from the alley, but across the street about a block away. All I could make out were two figures running at top speed opposite of me. Was it...Masaomi? The yellow hair looked like it but I was too far away to be sure. I didn't want to shout his name to find out it's not him either. That would make me feel like a total moron.

I continued to walk across the alley, trying to speed walk to get home faster. Being out here all alone was making me nervous as hell, and I didn't have my phone. Why on earth would I leave it? Right because my cotton shorts didn't have pockets...

My eye's sweeped the streets for any sign of trouble as I walked on. Every hum from a vending machine or nearby music from a store was only making my fear grow. What if that black thing was the slasher? The thought was making shivers run down my spine. Or what if it was a ghost?

The squeaks from my slippers got faster, and I was basically jogging now. Where the hell was my home?!

'Clink'

That did it. That single little noise that could have easily been just a bottlecap falling had me running like a maniac, with only the sound of fast squeaks echoing across the wind.

I turned a corner, and before I knew it, I was falling, facefirst and hands outstretched to block the impact. My foot had caught on a wide crack, and the stinging of my hands and knees made me hiss as I sat on the sidewalk, holding on to my knee and watching small red dots seep through small wounds. It was always the small wounds that stang the most.

Blowing at them gently, my heart fell when I saw that the bag of cookies I held had cracked into many small pieces.

"Aaaargh!" I yelled, throwing them against the wall in anger. A soft thud sounded as it smacked against the building and fell into the ground in a sorry heap. Nothing was going right tonight...I had come out here to get lost for nothing.

Well, there wasn't much I could do about it now. So, getting up, I dusted myself off and moved to retrieve the lone ribbon on the floor, as well as my missing slipper. Sliding my sore foot into it, I looked up and brightened at the sight of my street.

Yes, I had found my place finally, but I stopped to examine the man sitting at the edge of the sidewalk. Shizuo? It looked like it. The height and blonde locks were familiar. It seemed this night was just full of blonde hair.

I creeped closer casually, trying my best to ignore the hard stinging of my knees. Yes, It was Shizuo. I recognized that bartender suit anywhere. He was smoking a ciggarette, making the smoke waft in the air above him as he stared blankly at the sky. Well I couldn't really tell what emotion he expressed because his shade's blocked his eyes. Why would he need to wear them in the night time anyway?

Well, he didn't seem to hear me approaching, despite that my slippers were making the most annoying noise in the world. Was he daydreaming? I couldn't tell. It wasn't until I got close to him that I noticed the stillness of his body. He was probably deep in thought.

"Shizuo?" My voice sounded meek and shy, but my expression stayed nonchalant.

Messy blonde hair ruffled in the wind as he turned his head to look at me. He took a puff from his ciggarette and let the smoke out. "Hey." Was all that he said before turning back to stare at the sky.

"What are you doing in front of my house?"

He raised an eyebrow and glanced back quickly before returning his gaze to me. He was so tall that he looked rather crouched in his position, with his knees pulled high.

"Didn't know you lived here." He muttered.

I smiled at that, This man that had, at one time, elbowed the lights out of me, amused me somehow. I had never met anyone who could be mellow yet quick tempered at the same time. So I bent to sit next to him, pulling my knees up over my chest to rest my hands on them. Next to the blonde, I looked like a doll, and since I was smaller, I wasn't crouched so much as him. He didn't seem bothered by my prescence so I took to talking.

"So what are you doing here this late?" I asked again, careful to make my voice low to avoid annoying him. Doing so would be lethal.

He shrugged, broad shoulders moving in rythmth with the motion. "Waiting for a friend."

"Oh, well I can wait with you if you're lonely." I stated simply.

Brown eyes looked down at me and he squinted. I tensed. Did I annoy him?

"What did you say your name was again?" He asked nonchalantly, blowing out more smoke. I did my best not to cringe from the smell.

"I didn't." I replied slowly. "My name is Ahana, I just moved in from another country."

"Hn." He grunted, which was as much a reply as I was going to get. He was awfully uncooperative.

My eyes shifted from his face to his attire. "So you're a bartender?" It was kind of a stupid question since it was obvious but I was running out of things to say.

"No, got fired ages ago." He muttered, and I suddenly remembered he had said that to Izaya on that day.

"Oh." I muttered, awkwardly rubbing my knees. They were aching.

There was a long stretch of silence between us, with nothing but the sound of the wind rustling the cities tree leaves. He was the one to break the thick wall.

"You got chased again?" Hia deep voice made his throat rumble.

For a moment, I was confused but then looked down to see what he meant.

"Oh, no I just fell." I explained, leaving out the part near the allyway.

"You sure do run into trouble often."

I raised my eyebrow and smiled warmly, meeting his gaze as he turned to glance at me. It was like he was seeing me for the very first time, his eyes studied me carefully and he crushed his ciggarette against the concrete floor to snuff it out.

"Yeah...but its not like I'm trying." I muttered.

"Where did you move here from?"

"America."

"Is that right?"

I nodded. "Iv'e heard a lot about you from a friend of mine."

He raised a blonde eyebrow. "Hn."

More silence stretched before I asked the thing I was curious about.

"Um...sorry if I sound nosy...but why do you hate Izaya so much?"

He laughed, shoulders bouncing with the movement of his vocal cords. It was oddly pleasing to hear, because I was somehow sure Shizuo didn't laugh much. When he stopped, he moved to rest a hand on my head, making me stiffen.

"That guy is an information broker, a snitch, so you know, he framed me for a murder I didn't commit." He stated simply with a menacing smile.

That made me shiver, but I wasn't so sure if I believed him. Iv'e seen his temper, he was more than capable of murder. But I didn't dare claim so to him.

"Sorry to hear that." I stated with a meek smile.

He shrugged again. "Doesn't matter, well, theres my guy, I'll be leaving."

I followed his finger as he nodded towards a man not too far away walking towards us, wearing dreadlocks and talking on the phone. We both got up and I extended my hand to him in offering of a handshake.

"Maybe we can be friends." I blurted. I felt my cheeks redden and I mentally kicked myself. What kind of question was that? We weren't nine...

Nevertheless he smirked lightly and took my hand in his. It was warm, unlike my cold frosty skin. I was expecting a hard squeez, given his strength, but it was surprisingly gentle and his large hand engulfed mine and he shook lightly before letting go. It was only a few seconds but the gesture had me smiling from ear to ear like a fool.

He left without another word, and I stood watching his retreating form as he joined with the man on the phone. It wasn't like me to start a random conversation, truth be told, with anyone I didn't know too well unless I needed something, but Shizuo had an air of mystery that drew me in. With one last glance, I turned and made my own way back home.

...

That's it for this chapter, hope you enjoyed!


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

My nose wrinkled and my eyes squeezed shut, I succumbed to the sour burst in my mouth as I chewed the candy. Masaomi had brought a packet of these red balls of gum that were full of sour liquid inside, and it made me make all kinds of faces, much to the blonds amusement.

"Hahaha! Duude! Look at your face!" He laughed. His chewing gum was already devoid of the stuff so he was no longer suffering from the pain of having the bitterness lay on his tongue.

"Where did you get these?" Mikado murmured, face scrunched up as he chewed on his.

"There's this candy store downtown that sells em." Masaomi mentioned.

"Yeah I know that place, still prefer Ahana's baking over those." Kyohei spoke out as he sat on the bench of the schools rooftop.

"Yeah totally, but together it gives my tongue a bitter-sweet taste, yum." Erika chirped, manga in hand again.

"Thanks." I muttered softly with a warm smile on my face. Everyone had eaten my gifts, which were brought in a paper bag. So now we just hung out on the rooftop of the school as usual. This was starting to become a routine.

"So what do you guys want to do today?" Masaomi chirped, golden eyes sweeping from me to Mikado in a lazy daze.

I shrugged. "I was thinking maybe go exploring some more."

"We'll be exploring around town tonight in our van, if you want to join us you are welcome to." Kyohei offered.

"Can't, got this family thing going on at my place." Masaomi said with a yawn, hand sliding over his hair in a soft motion.

"I might, maybe." I whispered, large brown eyes glistening in amusement. It sounded fun, but I didn't know these people like Masaomi did. It would feel kind of strange. That being said, I looked over to the silent Mikado and gave him a knowing grin. "I'll go if you go."

His eyebrows rose and deer-like eyes blinked. "Uhh, sure, well just text me, I'll see if I can." He said with a hint of uncertainty.

"Don't worry, I know Erika and Walker are scary, but they're just weird." Kyohei muttered with a straight face. Earning a gasp from Walker.

"Heyyyy." The boy muttered with a pout, making Mikado and I smile. Kyohei was great at making us feel more at ease.

"Alright, totally." Mikado nodded.

"Anyway, I'm craving some sushi from Simons place." Walker whined.

"Hey lets go! I got a coupon yesterday for this special occasion!" Masaomi blurted.

Kyohei's eyes swept over us. "Well, you guys wonna go to simons?"

"Yeah! We haven't been there a while!" Erika blurted.

Kyohei nodded. "Alright then, you guys can ride in Saburu's van, though you'll have to be in the back with Walker and Erika." He said with a serious tone.

"That's fine dude, we don't mind, lets goooo." Masaomi nearly glided along the rails of the rooftop as he swept past me and Mikado to walk down the stairs of the building.

I followed behind Mikado as all of us gathered our belongings and descended the stairs as well. Pushing my sunglasses up and brushing my messy bangs aside, I mulled over last nights encounter with Shizuo as the darkness of the corridor engulfed me. Could I really be friends with such a person? Maybe it was a good thing that he was strong. It meant he could help me stay out of trouble. But then again wouldn't that mean I was using him? No...no I wasn't using him. I was very curious about him and was drawn to the tall male since the very beginning. What kind of things did he like? What were his dreams? What did he think of simons sushi? What was he like as a kid? I wanted to know all these things all of a sudden. I couldn't quite understand why, maybe it was because Shizuo seemed like he was always alone. Whatever the case was, I was looking forward to talking with the tall blonde again.

…

"Is it me, or is this spicier than the last time I had this." Walker sniffed a roll that was wedged in between clean chopsticks. Squinty eyes studied the food carefully and a tongue darted out to taste it.

"Definitely spicier." Masaomi murmured, mouth full of tuna sushi.

"So how do you like Ikebukuro so far?" Kyohei asked me as his beady eyes held mine. He sat across from me, as well as the rest of his group, while Masaomi, Mikado, and I sat across from them. The lighting of the sushi bar was a friendly luminescent yellow that illuminated our faces. It was warm as well, considering the day was getting dark.

I sipped some of my green tea and felt the tasty liquid flow through my throat before I replied. "I like it , I am getting somewhat accustomed to the constant noise."

Erika nodded. "Right! I forget you come from a sleepy town."

I nodded with a smile, brown locks bouncing with the movement and eyes ablaze with curiosity as I stared at the girl. What did Erika's hair look like without her cap?

"Anyway, you guys hear about whats been going on with the kidnappings?" Walker asked, eyes narrow and blonde hair slightly swaying with the passing of a nearby fan as he spoke.

"Kidnappings?" My eyes widened.

Kyohei nodded. "There are rumors going around that a nearby pharmacidical company is kidnapping foreign illegal immigrants for human experiments."

"But they're just rumors right?" Mikado spoke out with a confused expression.

Kyohei shrugged. "There have been a large number of immigrants that have been missing recently, so I wouldn't doubt it."

"That's kind of scary..." I muttered. But it still sounded kind of far fetched. I knew Ikebukuro was a crazy place...but human experiments?

"It's almost as scary as the slasher attacks." Erika exclaimed with a shudder. "You've heard about that too right guys?" She asked while her eyes swept over the three of us.

Masaomi nodded. "I have."

"The slasher attacks?" I questioned out loud, hinting that I didn't.

"Supposedly there is some psycho running around at night cutting people up with a blade or something." Kyohei explained.

"Are you serious? Did anyone get killed?" Mikado asked in surprise.

Masaomi shook his head. "Not yet, its just been a bunch of random people of every age that have been attacked near alley's, injured but not in any serious condition."

"So avoid being out after dark near alley's, got it!" I exclaimed with a shudder.

"Yeah talk about crazy..." Mikado murmured, fiddling with his chopsticks.

"I'm sure the police will catch whoever is responsible eventually." Kyohei added. I was about to agree but was cut off by the ringtone of his phone. Pausing for a moment, he reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out his device, opening it to stare at the screen with a blank face.

"What is it Kyohei?" Erika drawled, already done with her plate.

"Don't know...its an incomplete message from Kazutano...it's all a bunch of non-sense so I can't make it out at all..." Kyohei muttered. "It says...'I broke a plate.'"

"Think he's in trouble?" Saburo asked with a raised eyebrow. "I mean, I don't know he is kinda bad at kanji."

"Beats me...but I wouldn't doubt it." Kyohei stated with a frown.

"Who's Kazutano?" Mikado interrupted briefly. I was glad he did too, because I was wondering the same thing.

"Kazutano is the friendliest man you will ever meet, but also the weirdest." Kyohei explained. "He moved here from overseas, so he's an illegal immigrant, but that doesn't stop anyone from liking him, hes simply the man you go to when you're sad, he's Kazutano, the home boy."

"I see..." I muttered, eyes fixated on my near finished food. It sounded like they really liked that guy.

"Well, we probably should be going, gotta go check up on him to see if he's alright." Kyohei murmured while standing up.

"What, right now?" Erika asked with a pout.

"Yeah right now, I'll go pay for the food." He stated.

"Sweet!" Masaomi squealed.

Mikado got up. "Wait...you don't have to."

Kyohei brushed him off with a wave of his hand. "It's fine, I don't mind, I'll catch you guys next time."

We watched as they rose up from their seats and walked over to the front of the restaurant. I could faintly hear Simon's greetings as he took their money.

"Well, I'm so full...but I'm kinda craving something sweet at the same time!" Masaomi said with a burp, patting his belly over his white sweater.

"Really? I think I feel just fine...what about you Ahana?" Mikado's deer-like eyes scanned my face for a reaction.

"I'm fine too...but maybe a sweet wont hurt." I admitted with a blush and a frown.

"Okay...so it's settled." Masaomi lifted an arm and golden eyes scanned the watch around his thin wrist. "It's five thirty so we got like five hours until curfew."

"Wow that fast...time really does fly by..." Mikado murmured. "Where are you thinking of going next?"

The three of us stood up and we walked towards the front of the restaurant. With Kyohei's group gone, only Simon was there to greet us.

"Ahoy, did you enjoy tonight's sushi?" The tall male smiled down at us, beady eyes glistening.

"Sure did, thanks Simon." Masaomi stated with a grin, hands in his sweater pockets. I fiddled with the hem of my frilly black skirt. It was getting late and cool, and I was regretting deciding to wear a skirt and a plain black T-shirt. Only my knee high dark socks provided warmth.

"That is good, enjoy the rest of the night." Simon drawled in his heavy accent while waving at us as we left the restaurant.

"Thanks dude!" Masaomi yelled back.

The cold air made my hair sway and I wrapped my arms around my chest, letting my brown satchel bag dangle over my shoulder. The sky was a dark pink that was quickly turning into a pale purple before night fell upon the city. Some of the street lights were already on.

"So where are we going next?" Mikado breathed. We were walking along the side walk now.

"Hmmm...you guys should really try out this cupcake place downtown...oh look, its Anri." Masaomi stopped himself mid-sentence to point at the lone short haired girl standing by a crosswalk intersection. She still had on her school uniform.

"Yeah it is...lets go say hi." Mikado mentioned with a smile. I nodded in agreement and followed close behind the raven haired boy as he walked over to the girl. Masaomi nearly shrugged and followed by my side, nudging my arm to throw me a knowing grin.

"Hey Anri, whats up." Mikado's voice made the quiet girl look up in slight surprise.

"Hey..." Her voice was barely above a whisper.

"Still no sign of Mika?" Masaomi asked casually, hands resting behind his head.

Anri shook her head. "Iv'e been looking..."

"Look...just give it up, if she wants to come back then she will, but you can't be stressing over it for the rest of your highschool life." Masaomi breathed out.

Anri nodded. "T-thanks..." She murmured.

"Well, we were heading downtown, you want to come with?" Masaomi asked playfully, shooting Mikado a kissing gesture.

"I was actually going to head home..." Anri muttered.

"No problem, we can walk with you." I offered with a smile of my own.

The girl looked at me with raised eyebrows and I could catch a glimpse of my reflection in her glasses."Thanks..." She stated.

"No problem babes, you shouldn't be out here alone anyway, with the slasher and all." Masaomi exclaimed. There was a hint of emotion in Anri's eyes but I couldn't tell what it was. Letting the three talk about the criminal again, I let myself zone out and thought about a certain blonde. I hadn't seen Shizuo at all today. I didn't know why but I felt somewhat down because of it. Was I expecting something from the tall man? A sigh escaped my lips and I rose my eyes towards the narrow pathway we were heading in. Anri must of lived around here, and I guess it suited her. This side of the city was rather quiet and eerie. Only the low electrical humming of cable wires could be heard, save for our foot steps and Masaomi's loud voice.

"It's not that far ahead..." Anri muttered quietly, eyes downcast.

Blinking, I took the hint and smiled at her, wrapping my arms around my upper torso. "Alright, we'll see you at school then."

She nodded solemnly.

"You sure you don't want to hang out with us or anything?" Masaomi asked.

"I am free tomorrow." Was her response. Anri was a rather straightforward and simple girl.

"Alright! No biggie, I'll hit you up then babes!" Masaomi stated cheerfully. Anri nodded again and bowed. Without another word, she turned around and walked towards a big white building. We stared at her retreating form, watching her climb the stairs to the building and slide into a door.

"What a weird girl." Mikado whispered.

"But you think shes hot right?" Masaomi grinned.

"yeah...wait no! I didn't hear your question properly!" Mikado blurted out with a beet red face.

Masaomi and I shared a look, then laughed. Mikado was always going to fall for that one.

"It's not funny guys..." The raven haired boy muttered. "Besides...It's getting late, lets go before Shizuo Heiwajima throws a stove at us."

That made Masaomi burst out laughing even more. He threw his head back as he guffawed for all his soul was worth. I only blinked as I suddenly remembered something.

"Oh no! I was supposed to clean my stove!." I shouted in a panicking tone. The cookies I had baked last night had made a huge mess and I didn't bother to clean up in the morning.

"Your stove?" Mikado mimicked with raised eyebrows. I nodded.

Masaomi's laughter had died down by then and he checked his watch. "It's going to be six soon, boy time really flies don't it." He muttered with a grin. We were starting to walk back to the busy sidewalks of Ikebukuro.

"Guess we should call it a night, unless you guys still want to hang out?" Masaomi offered while glancing at us." His yellow hair seemed to glow under the florescent lights of the convenience store head signs.

"No I really need to get some stuff done." Mikado murmured with a blank stare. What was on his mind? Sometimes Mikado was a lot like Anri.

"Alright then, lets drop Ahana off first." Masaomi said with a smile, then peered down at me, his face so close I could almost feel our noses touching. "So you wont get lost again babes." He winked.

I took a step back and let out a small laugh. "Thanks!"

"Of course! Anytime sweetheart." The blonde grinned. We stood at the base of the intersection across from my street. Sighing in relief, I rubbed my arms up and down my arm. I couldn't wait to clean the kitchen already and curl under my covers. Maybe I would log into the dollars website.

The light turned red. I stepped off the curve. The people I talked with in the chat room came into my mind. Did that boy end up being alright? I was kind of anxious to log on now, just for the sake of knowing. And maybe...just maybe...

"Ahana look out!"

I heard the screeching of tires and felt a hand grip my arm so tightly I thought it would brake. Masaomi yanked me back just in time as a van rushed past me at high speed. I stood there, dumbfounded. I was second away from being a flat pancake right now. My heart was still pounding hard against my chest.

"Holy shit, I swear some people shouldn't be allowed to drive." Masaomi muttered with an unamused expression. Mikado just stared after the van.

"Y-yeah..." I muttered, smoothing out my hair with shaky fingers. "Thanks."

"Don't sweat it, c'mon lets hurry up." Masaomi gently pushed me forward from behind and I sped walked over to the other side of the road until my feet hit the sidewalk.

"You have fast reflexes." I pointed out to the blonde as we continued walking.

"Only for you babes!" Masaomi squealed while making a sexy pose with a hand pressed against his chest. I chuckled lightly.

"Really..." I could almost feel Mikado's eyebrow twitch.

"C'mon man, don't be so boring." Masaomi whined at his friend. We stopped just short of the front of my gates and I paused to turn back to the boys.

"Thank you for today, it was fun." I smiled warmly.

"All thanks to me...I rock!" Masaomi laughed dramatically, making Mikado's eyes roll.

"Can you hang out tomorrow?" The raven haired boy cut the blonde off.

I nodded. "Yes, I will text you guys, good night!" Cold fingers wrapped around the bar of the gate and I yanked it open to cross it.

"Good night."

"Night babes!"

I didn't have to turn back to know who's words were who's. Almost a whole week here and I was already getting familiar with their quirks. I only waved in the air as a farewell gesture and walked to my door with ease. Fumbling around in my skirt pockets, I grabbed the key and inserted it into the knob. With a click, the door opened and I stepped in.

I sighed as I felt the instant warmth of my home. It felt good to be in my house again. Turning the lights on, I let my bag drop to the sofa and walked over to the kitchen. Sure enough, the mess from last night was still there. Dried cookie mix lay plastered on the oven handle and on lone dishes sitting by it. I had my work cut out for me.

Bending down to the lower drawers, I snagged a plastic bag and shoved the empty boxes and leftover trash into it. Tying it into a knot, I headed back out the door. The trash cans were right outside of the alley way at the back if I remembered correctly. I had to remember to take them out for the pickup...or at least that's how it worked back in my original country.

I made a mental note to ask dad how the trash system worked here and stepped into the back. It was dark, save for the lone headlight above the building that shone dimly enough for me to make out the cans at the far side of a wall. Walking over to them quickly, I opened the lid with a sour face and dumped the bag inside. I always hated doing this sort of thing, but I didn't want dad to come home seeing all the mess.

Letting the lid fall back down, I crossed the alley to peek towards the other end. Looked like he was going to take a while. Not that I minded. It only gave me more time to clean up before heading to my room. With that in mind, I turned to head back inside but paused. There was something laying at the sidewalk. Something kind of big and dark. A dead cat? No...it was much too large to be that.

I bit my lower lip in anticipation. What if it was an injured dog? I couldn't resist helping it. And curiosity was getting the better of me, therefor I walked forward, mindful to keep a safe distance at first. But my caution didn't last long because I was starting to make out the figure on the floor. Once I was but a mere inches away from it, I could see that it was a boy. Around fourteen years old maybe, with short brown hair and a cheeky face. He seemed to be passed out. His breathing was heavy and he was sprawled out like he was dumped here. Was he...drunk? Peering down at him a bit closer, I sniffed. He didn't smell anything like beer, he must have smoked grass or something. He looked like he might have been drugged. What should I do...

"Is smelling young boys passed out on the street your thing?"

I nearly jumped out of my skin upon hearing the familiar voice and I sharply bolted up to stare at Izaya. In the dark, his skin looked like it glowed a pale white, making him look kind of ghost-like draped in black. He stood the opposite of me, throwing me a foxy smile.

"No...I was wondering if he was drunk." I muttered with a defensive frown. Did Izaya have to be so annoying? That was mean of him to accuse me of such a thing. I didn't expect to see him here at all.

"Right..." Izaya grinned, then peered down at the boy. His smile faded and was replaced with a perplexed look. "Huh? I know this guy, kinda..."

"Oh?" looked up at the male in question.

A ringtone filled the air and I turned my attention from Izaya to the boy once more. It was his phone.

"His phone is ringing..." I blurted out the obvious.

"Sure is." Izaya stated simply. He bent down gracefully and reached into the boys pockets.

"What are you doing?" I asked. It was weird to touch a passed out body in the street.

Without replying, Izaya took out a small phone, and flipped it open. The ringtone stopped at once and I stared in awe. Was he really going to answer it?!

"Heyyy it's Izaya!." He chirped cheerfully as I stared at him with confused eyes. What the hell was he doing...

"Oh? Confused Kyohei?" He chuckled. My ears twitched. Kyohei? Izaya went on. "Nothing, I just happened to pass by a sleeping body on the street and his phone just happened to ring, and I just happened to pick it up."

He paused. I waited.

"Nope, I'm by Ahana's place, which is north by Simon's, heh how should I know? I just found him here...alright, see ya!" Izaya hung up and slid the phone back into the boys pocket.

"You know Kyohei?" I asked with a curious gaze.

Dark brown eyes held mine and he smiled lightly. "A bit."

"How did you know I lived here?" I shot out with a frown.

He blinked, eyes not giving anything away. "A guess, you don't have your bag."

My eyes slightly widened. He was very observant. "oh."

"So what what are you doing out here this late?" He chirped with his foxy grin. He had stepped over the sleeping boy to get closer to me and I took a step back.

"Um...stuff..." I murmured, averting my gaze. He studied me for a while before smirking.

"Well, go home Ahana chan, this is a dangerous time for you to be out and about." He patted me lightly on the shoulder before walking past me. Turning back, I stared at his retreating form for a while. Izaya was such a weird guy...but then again almost everyone in this city was odd.

Before I knew it, Something big flew past me with such speed it made my hair fly forward. It barely missed Izaya and crashed hard against the floor a few feet away, causing a huge cloud of dirt and dust to whirl in the air. I stared in shock, holding my breath. That was...a park slide. The thing almost gave me a heart attack. The crash itself was so loud.

"Izayyaaaa!"

I flinched, recognizing the voice. Shizuo. Turning around, I saw the tall man panting heavily, messy hair strewn about and clothes ragged. Izaya threw him a smirk before taking off with the stealth of a cat. Shizuo followed quickly, long legs slamming against the floor as he ran towards me. Without hesitation, I sidestepped to avoid getting hit again, and watched as he passed by, disappearing into a corner. I stood there for a moment, staring at the slide and hearing both mens retreating footsteps not too far off.

"That was...crazy." I murmured. How could it not have hit Izaya? Didn't Shizuo think that he could kill him that way? This whole situation was crazy. I thought about it for a few minutes while trying to calm my beating heart from the unexpected event. Shizuo was really inhumanly strong...he could have hit the poor sap on the floor too...or me.

I looked down at the sleeping boy. How did Kyohei even know his number...maybe they know each other? Anyway it was odd seeing someone so young passed out on the street. I didn't want to leave him...and I didn't want to stay with him either. Opting for a better solution, I chose to walk around the street to find someone. Maybe a cop would pass by and I could inform him.

There was nothing else to do. Sighing, I slipped around the boy and walked down the street to get to the corner. Why were these parts so deserted? It wasn't that late.

"Today is turning out to be a long day after all..." I muttered to myself. And a weird one at that. I stifled a laugh and stopped once I got to the corner. Izaya was no where in sight, he must have disappeared to somewhere else by now. I scanned the streets slowly. There were a couple of people walking about, and a few passing cars, but none of which looked familiar. Then something yellow caught my eye. Someone with blonde messy hair and a tall body was walking a block away. Shizuo? I couldn't tell, he was too far away, but my heart lifted upon seeing him. Without thinking, I ran forward past convenience stores and passerby's. My heart was beating fast, I was panting. Running was never my strong point. Was he still angry? Maybe it was a bad time to talk...

Slowing down, I looked around. Where did I see him? It's like he just vanished...My eyes darted this way and that.

"What is wrong with me..." I muttered to myself again. Was I crazy? I was starting to look like a stalker. I didn't understand my own impulsiveness regarding Shizuo. Confused, I scratched my head thoughtfully. I should just go back home...I'm wasting time.

Pouting, I turned to leave but stopped as lights hit me. I blindly looked up to their source and lifted my hands to shield my eyes from it. What the hell...

I didn't have time to run. The van that was in front of me was coming towards me fast from an intersection. I let out a yelp and cringed. Was it going to hit me?

Tires screeched and the van halted so suddenly, it rocked back with the motion. Shocked, I stared ahead as the door opened and Erika popped her head out. It was Kyohei's group.

"Ahana! Where do you live?" She shouted.

I blinked, confused out of my mind. "Huh?" Was all I could mutter. They almost run me over and now they are asking me where I live? Why were they even going that fast?! I almost died two times today!

"You idiot, don't just ask her where she lives..." I heard Kyohei scold. He peered out from the drivers seat mirror and looked at me with a serious expression. "Sorry about that, didn't see you... need a ride home?"

I paused for a moment, half squinting with the headlights aimed at me. "Um...okay." I murmured.

Walking over to the side door, Erika leaned back to give me space. I sat beside Walker and waited for Erika to close the door.

"You guys were going fast." I muttered.

"Yeah, we're kinda in a hurry, actually we need to know where you live..." Kyohei admitted. Saburo remained silent in the passengers seat while Walker and Erika stayed with me in the back.

"Why?" I asked curiously? "Do you want to visit me?"

"Not quite, someone we are looking for is around there." Kyohei replied solemnly.

My eyes widened. "Oh, is it that passed out boy in the street? I heard Izaya talking to you on his phone." I stated. "Is he a friend of yours?"

Kyohei looked back at me and held my gaze. " Yeah that guy, no not a friend, he has someone...we need information from him, can you take us to him?"

I nodded. "S-sure...um what exactly is going on?" I glanced at him for an explanation.

"Remember the kidnappings we were talking about in Simon's restaurant?" Erika asked. I nodded.

"Well they took Kazutano, they have him in a van somewhere, we're going to rescue him for Saburos sake..." Walker finished.

"Kazutanoooo! We have to hurry up!" Saburo, who has kept quiet, suddenly burst out into tears.

I blinked, suddenly wishing I declined the offer for a ride. Wasn't going after kidnappers crazy and dangerous?

"Okay...uh, make a turn and go straight, then make a turn again and drive up." I instructed. Kyohei nodded and obeyed. The car moved and I held on tightly to the front seat that Saburo sat on. This man must have been very special to him. But still...chasing kidnappers? What if they were armed?

It didn't take long for Kyohei to pull up to the spot where the boy was. Erika opened the door, letting a gush of cold air in and I shivered.

"Pull him in, we'll interrogate him inside the car." Kyohei instructed. I nearly deadpanned. What were they going to do?!

Nevertheless, Erika and walker grabbed the boy by his feet and hands, and threw him in. I leaned to the far corner of the van, peering down at the boy in disbelief.

"Guys this is crazy! And how do you even know he has information?" I squeaked. Erika and Walker had already closed the door and were grinning like psycho's.

"Because that's Kazutano's cellphone he has, so he must have been part of the kidnapping, I'm driving up to your alley...we will do whatever it takes to get him talking." Kyohei muttered.

My jaw dropped. They were all crazy, and now they were going to do god knows what to him in my backyard. Nervously, I pressed my face to the window as Kyohei drove deeper into the alley. Dad wasn't home yet.

Kyohei and Saburo flung open their doors and Erika held a water bottle over the boys face. It splashed for several seconds before he finally coughed and woke up. Brown eyes darted to each of our faces in a panicked fashion. Brown hair stuck to his skin, reminding me of the time I threw soda at Izaya.

"Wh..wha?" He stood up, confused and disoriented. Smiling, Erika put the bottle away and crept closer to the boy.

"Where's Kazutano?" She asked sweetly.

The boy blinked and looked at me. I averted my gaze and shrugged. I had nothing to do with this. Kyohei and Saburo had walked around the van to swing open the back door. They stared at the boy with cold gazes.

"Alright, here's whats up, I know you are part of the kidnapping, so you're gonna tell us where they are taking Kazutano." Kyohei explained rather calmly.

The boy grunted, then glared daggers at him. "Like hell I would tell you, what are you gonna do mr. tough man? Ain't no way you're making me talk." He crossed his arms over his chest and sat stubbornly.

Kyohei sighed. "Alright...Erika, Walker, you guys know what to do." He muttered, closing the door. My companions giggled evily.

"And don't use gasoline this time!" Kyohei called out from outside.

"Ehh?!" The boy and I gasped.

"W..what are you gonna do to me." He squeaked, eyes wide with worry as the situation suddenly dawned on him. He wasn't going to get off the hook that easily.

"We are going to torture you with this yaoi manga until you talk." Erika and Walker both grinned, holding up said manga to the boys face. He gulped, cheeks reddening. Even my cheeks warmed up.

"Yaoi...manga?" I repeated slowly, trying to comprehend it. I remembered such material from manga stores back in my country. It was erotic male on male love.

Erika nodded. "Yup!" She opened a book and showed him an especially lewd scene. I could spot the steamy sex from my angle and I looked away fast with blazing red cheeks. Why did Erika have such a dirty manga?

Walker and Erika laughed, reading some of the material out loud, making the boys eyes widen awkwardly. Without further hesitation, he whirled around on his knees and pounded on the window.

"Okay! I'll talk! I'll talk! Please don't make me read Yaoi!" He screamed in terror. Erika and Walker smiled in victory. Jeez...what a crazy night.

…

This was not what I was expecting. I didn't want to go with them on their kidnapper hunt. But somehow, I ended up rolling around in the back with Walker and Erika, and a passed out young kidnapper thanks to Kyohei knocking him on the head with a flashlight. It all happened so fast. As soon as they knew where the kidnappers were heading, Saburo took the wheel and drove like a maniac without letting me out.

"Arrgh!" I yelled as I violently got thrown to the ground again. Saburo was going at top speed and was turning violently. Without anything to hold onto, we were bouncing around like ping pong balls.

"Just hold on! We almost see them, I already contacted Celty, she's on their tail." Kyohei stated loudly.

"This is the most fun I have had since joining the Dollars!" Erika chirped, body sprawled against the passed out boy.

"Totally! This is like straight out of a manga!" Walker agreed. I shook my head. No this was not fun at all! I was...going to hurl...if I didn't get out soon.

"Wait...you are part of the Dollars?" I asked, eyes widening in surprise. Erika had said that. Were they really?

They didn't have time to answer my question because Saburo took another sharp turn and sent us flying around again. I landed hard against Walker, my back pressed against his face.

"Arrrghhh!" I screeched, trying to sit up quickly to allow Walker some space.

"There they are! And there's Celty! Hold on Kazutanoooo!" Saburo shouted with determination.

Rubbing my head, I sat up completely to peer ahead. He was right, the black rider was on her motorbike close behind a black van. Without warning, the black van stopped, making both Celty and us stop too. A door flung open, and a man sporting a red sweater was thrown out. Was it...Kazutano? It looked like an old Italian man staring around with a confused and frightened expression. Yes, it must have been Kazutano.

"They must have given up on him, lets pick him up and make sure he's safe." Kyohei said quickly.

"No way! Those Kidnappers have to pay! I'm gonna keep chasing!" Saburo shouted angrily. I shook my head quickly and seized my chance for an escape.

"No let me out first! I need to get home!" I spoke out quickly, fumbling with the door handle. We were in some sort of main street but it was lonely. Even so I didn't care. I wanted out.

"Right sorry about that, be safe Ahana, thanks for helping us out." Kyohei stated calmly. I nodded and bid my farewells with the rest of the group. With one last glance at the passed out kidnapper, I swung open the door and stepped out. The cold air was freezing and I instantly wrapped my arms around myself. My body slightly ached from all the bouncing around in the van as well.

Screeching tires filled the air and I watched as Kyohei's grouped chased after the black van. I could already imagine them bouncing around in there. Sighing in relief, I turned my attention to Celty. She was trying to communicate with the old man but he wasn't cooperating too well.

"No no I japaneese! Lookie here I born here in Japan and they pick on me, I so sad!." His Italian accent was so heavy it made me cringe. This man...didn't even sound Japanese let alone look like one.

"I thank you for rescue really I do, I must go now, I go to home and eat with de chopstick, see I Japaneese!" The old man continued rambling only to walk away whilst talking to himself. Celty shook her head and looked back at me. Slowly driving to my side, she made a small wave gesture as a greeting.

"H-hi." I stuttered, shivering in the cold air.

She typed into her phone and held it up to me. 'Are you alright? Need a ride home?'

I nodded. "I'm fine...I don't even know how I got caught up in that mess...and yes please."

She typed again. 'I understand, alright I can take you home.'

Reaching for an extra black helmet, she handed it to me and I put it on carefully before hopping on the back of her motorbike.

"Thanks." I said gratefully, wrapping my arms around her waist. She nodded and drove, kicking the motorbike into gear. Celty was so mysterious. I wondered...just what did she look like without her helmet? I thought about what she was like without her veil as she drove the freeway. I had no way to feel the wind against my face because of the helmet. But I could feel it on my icy fingers and somehow...it was pleasant. This night may have been bizarre, but it filled me with some sort of happiness. I looked up at Celty's helmet and watched as the lights of the city reflected against that mysterious helmet. Ce;ty who was silent but kind. One day...I hoped to see her face without that mask.

…

Authors note: Sorry this took so long, been busy as hell lately. Hope you enjoyed! Btw to the person who asked about what ep im in. Yes im going by episodes but im changing the storyline a bit to fit in the oc storyline plot. Sorry for the confusion.


End file.
